Women business moving beyond development enigma

“Bangladesh Enigma” refers to a steady and high economic growth rate in Bangladesh despite numerous barriers. Bangladesh has experienced tremendous growth in economy, technology, and infrastructure that play significant roles in Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED). Following a quantitative approach with a data set of 1789 women entrepreneurs, we examine the ripple effect of economic and educational growth on technology, capital, and infrastructure and in essence, on women entrepreneurship. Technological expertise, access to technology, and infrastructure appeared to be the most important determinants of WED even after controlling socio-demographic variables. However, entrepreneurs still face challenges in accessing capital. Women who agreed and strongly agreed on the usefulness of knowledge of technology were 4 and 4.5 times more likely to agree on development than those who strongly disagreed. Women who reported strong agreement to access to technology for business growth were 2.5 times more likely to agree on development than those who strongly disagreed. Authors imply that Bangladesh’s economic growth has facilitated access to technology and infrastructure leading to WED which has been a crucial driving force behind Bangladesh’s economic growth. While existing studies narrowly focused on specific cities or rural areas with limited attention on specific technological aspects, this study advances the literature by approaching technology from a comprehensive perspective, reflecting nationwide insights on women entrepreneurship, and highlighting how economy and women entrepreneurship influence each other contributing to sustain Bangladesh’s enigmatic economic development.