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DHAKA, Sept 08, 2026 (BSS) - Women entrepreneurs are now engaged in almost every sector of business in Sylhet Division, with an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 women running enterprises across the region, including around 2,000 in Sylhet district alone.

Women were scarcely visible in Sylhet's business community even one and a half decades ago, when they were largely confined to clothing, beauty parlours and tailoring businesses.

The situation has changed rapidly, with women now participating in almost every type of business. Thousands of women entrepreneurs are currently operating across the four districts of greater Sylhet, while several thousand more are conducting online-based businesses from their homes.

According to local administration officials, the Women Chamber and various organisations of women entrepreneurs, no institution has a precise record of the total number of women business owners or entrepreneurs in the division. However, the number is estimated at between 5,000 and 6,000. They are engaged in a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, clothing and boutiques, small and cottage industries, beauty parlours and tailoring, catering, information technology, event management, medical equipment sales, contracting, freelancing or outsourcing, and food production.

Despite facing social and economic barriers, women in Sylhet are continuing to compete successfully alongside men in business.

Several entrepreneurs said the number of women entrepreneurs in Sylhet's small, medium and cottage industries has increased significantly over the past one and a half decades, creating more employment opportunities for women locally.

They said the expansion of the sector has widened income opportunities for other women as well, adding that greater encouragement for the sector would gradually strengthen Sylhet's economy through women’s participation. At least several hundred women entrepreneurs have already established strong positions in the region's business community.
 
Shakera Sultana Jannat, one of the women entrepreneurs, said there are between 5,000 and 6,000 women entrepreneurs in Sylhet Division, including around 2,000 in Sylhet district.
 
Several businesswomen observed that women who enter business often face negative attitudes within their own families at the outset. They later have to overcome social prejudice, negative perceptions, patriarchal mindsets and shortages of capital.
 
Limited access to banks, wholesale markets and other relevant sectors also remains a major challenge. Despite these obstacles, women in Sylhet continue to move forward and achieve progress.
 
They said a more women-friendly environment is needed to promote the marketing and distribution of products and services produced by women entrepreneurs.
 
Swarnalata Roy, former president of the Sylhet Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber currently has 180 members.
 
She said women still face many obstacles in business, including negative family and social attitudes and a lack of capital. Many women also feel unsafe returning home at night after closing their businesses. Nevertheless, they continue to overcome these barriers and advance despite social and economic challenges, she added.
 
Swarnalata Roy said that although the government is supporting women entrepreneurs in various ways and has emphasised women's active participation in economic activities, greater government patronage is still needed.
 
She suggested arranging advanced training programmes to encourage women entrepreneurs and organising workshops to help women understand how they can more easily obtain bank loans.
 
Thirty-five-year-old Nasrin Begum a resident of the Subidbazar area of Sylhet city. She lives with her husband Kajal Rahman, one son and one daughter. She married in 2006 and, after marriage, sought to become financially self-reliant with strong encouragement from her husband.
 
In 2015, Nasrin Begum established a women's fitness centre named "Lady Fit Sylhet" in Subidbazar. Initially, many local people viewed the gym negatively, but she remained determined.
 
In addition to the gym, she owns a clothing store named ‘Nasrin Collection’ in Subidbazar, which sells women's clothing and other essential products.
 
Nasrin said women visit the gym to maintain good health. Her institution provides meditation, yoga, aerobic exercise and other physical fitness activities in two daily sessions from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Around 100 women receive services there every day.
 
Tasnim Akter, 36, originally from Khilgaon in Dhaka, graduated with a BBS degree from Eden Mohila College. She married private-sector employee Md. Jane Alam in 2005 and moved to Sylhet after marriage because of her husband's job.
 
Managing household expenses in the costly city of Sylhet on a single income have become difficult, prompting her to begin private tutoring. When that did not significantly improve the family's financial condition, she entered business. Interested in fashion since her student days, she had worked on batik, block printing and fabric design before marriage. Using that experience, she established "Meghalaya Fashion" in Ambarkhana Boro Bazar of Sylhet city in 2015.
 
Tasnim Akter said her daughter's private tutor encouraged them to jointly purchase boutique three-piece dresses worth Taka 30,000 to Taka 40,000 wholesale from Jamalpur and sell them retail among acquaintances. They earned a profit of Taka 8,000 to Taka 10,000 in 2013.
 
Later, her husband gave her Taka 7,000 for business. She used the money to buy fabric and create three-piece and one-piece dresses with her own designs, earning a profit of Taka 12,000.
 
She participated in a women entrepreneurs' fair in Sylhet in 2014. In 2015, her husband spent Tk 300,000 to establish "Meghalaya Fashion", which has since become a well-known business employing 20 people.