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Eastern Bank successfully organised the ‘Women Entrepreneurship Development Summit 2025’ at its head office in Dhaka, yesterday, bringing together women chambers, business associations, and ecosystem partners from across the country. The summit aimed to create a strategic roadmap for identifying and empowering authentic, finance-ready women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.
Themed "Building Bridges for Finance-Ready Women-Led Enterprises," the open-floor discussion focused on fostering collaborative partnerships between EBL Women Banking and stakeholders to ensure inclusive financial access and institutional readiness for women-led businesses, according to a media release.
Rubina Husain, President, Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (BFWE) and also the President of SEED Foundation, moderated the session. In her remarks, she stated, “This initiative by EBL is a timely and much-needed platform that unites banks, chambers, and women entrepreneurs under one roof. We are aligning efforts to formalise and scale women-led enterprises across Bangladesh.”
At the event, EBL officially launched Phase II of its flagship Women Entrepreneurship Development Program ‘Adbita’—a comprehensive, three-month blended (online and offline) capacity-building initiative. The program is designed to support women entrepreneurs in enhancing formal business documentation, financial literacy, e-commerce capabilities, product quality, and market expansion both locally and globally.
Speaking at the summit, Ali Reza Iftekhar, Managing Director of EBL, said, “Our commitment goes beyond rhetoric. This program is shaped by the real needs of women entrepreneurs—access to finance, institutional recognition, and strategic support. We are proud to be contributing to a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
The summit was attended by prominent women entrepreneurs, leaders from business associations, and ecosystem collaborators. Md. Mustafizur Rahman, CEO, SEED Foundation along with EBL AMD and COO Osman Ershad Faiz, DMD and Head of Retail and SME Banking M. Khorshed Anowar, Head of Liability and Wealth Management Sarmin Atik, Head of Priority and Women Banking Tanzeri Hoque, were present among others.