Focused conversation: Profiles of Successful Women’s Associations

Women’s business associations and chambers of commerce give women a seat at the table, help them build successful strategies, institutionalize change and amplify their voices. While approaches and details may differ by context, many commonalities run through the best practices for women’s associations. Working with women’s business associations has been key to CIPE programs with women.

Before she was the President of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), Selima Ahmad had worked in the Bangladeshi auto and handicraft industries as well as participated in several trade organizations. After resigning from the board of one such chamber over her distaste for its politicization, Ahmad sought to initiate a women’s chamber of commerce. The Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce rejected her first attempt, but Ahmad found one clause in her country’s Trade Ordinance that said the government could override that decision. Drawing on the government’s stated dedication to women’s empowerment, as well as her own hard work and ingenuity, Ahmad successfully advocated for the establishment of a women’s chamber. Since its founding, BWCCI has grown from 24 members to over 2,000.

BWCCI’s first agendas included topics such as women entrepreneurs’ access to finance, access to markets, and networking. Through the reputation of its board, BWCCI also helped its members get loans. By hosting focus groups around the country, BWCCI identified bankers that were not giving loans to women entrepreneurs and discussed ways to change their loan patterns. In advocacy, Ahmad found that it was important to identify friends of BWCCI’s causes. For example, with the help of the Bangladesh Central Bank governor, BWCCI won the loan policy it had advocated for women entrepreneurs – loans that did not require collateral and had low interest rates. When banks still did not give loans, BWCCI successfully advocated another policy that mandated that banks give 15% of loans to women entrepreneurs if they received money from the central bank or wanted to open new branches.

Another challenge for women entrepreneurs is capacity building. In response, BWCCI composed a women’s national business agenda. Through focus groups, BWCCI found out that the number one challenge facing women entrepreneurs was not access to finance, but social barriers such as lack of support from husbands or violence against women. The second biggest challenge was capacity building and learning how to manage a business. The third challenge was access to finance. BWCCI incorporated these findings into its national agenda.

Dr. Shehla Javed Akram, President of the Central and North Punjab Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNPWCCI), maintains that in Pakistan being a woman is a challenge and being a businesswoman is an even greater challenge. Chambers of commerce have largely ignored the services sector as well as the small and medium-sized enterprises that women typically run. Though this pattern may not be consciously-propagated by chamber professionals, the inertia of traditionally represented sectors reinforces it. Businessmen and corporate giants in a select few industries have typically dominated chambers of commerce in Pakistan.

The problems facing women entrepreneurs are distinct from those that chambers of commerce typically address. Pakistani chambers focus their efforts on lobbying for large industries and creating networking opportunities for members. They deal with tariff issues, the creation of industrial parks and other such matters. Women entrepreneurs, concentrated in cottage and small industries, have tended to shy away from these types of chambers and activities.

Due to number and nature of potential members to women’s chambers in Pakistan, women’s chambers have broader mandates than other chambers. For example, in addition to facilitating participation in international trade fairs, advocacy, and creating networking opportunities, CNPWCCI is also launching an online and physical buying house for members who work from home; creating a helpdesk to assist women in completing paperwork; and initiating a research and development center for its members’ market research. For some of its activities, CNPWCCI also works with NGOs that share similar goals.

With the creation of women chambers in Pakistan, not only did female representation in the governance of business associations and chambers dramatically change, but the very dynamics of industry representation transformed. While earlier chambers did not want to include designers, beauticians or other similar service providers as members, the creation of women chambers has generated interest in these sectors. In this way, women’s chambers have been catalysts for changing mindsets in Pakistan. Since women entrepreneurs have the option of being members of women’s chambers and/or regular chambers, competition for their membership has resulted in better chamber services.

Wherever you have women’s associations that are dedicated to their members and raising women’s capacity, they make a difference.