TDS Desk:

Only 4,205 women are registered as tenderers in the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), said Mirza Ashfaqur Rahman, the Chief Executive Officer of the organization.

Women across the world constitute only 40% of global entrepreneurs, he stated in his closing remarks.

“The percentage of women entrepreneurs is 26% in Thailand and 22% in India. However, in Bangladesh, the number of registered women tenderers is 4,205, or 7.3%,” said Mirza Ashfaqur Rahman.

He further added that the total number of tenderers now registered in the e-GP system is 116,119.

The Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) organized the workshop at the Bangladesh Planning Commission in Dhaka as part of their communication program on e-GP, under the DIMAPP project.

Around 40 women entrepreneurs, already registered in the e-GP system, participated in the workshop.

This workshop, managed by the Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP), is expected to play a significant role in creating new opportunities for women through e-GP and the public procurement process.

At the beginning of the workshop, BPPA Director Laboni Chakma delivered the welcome speech, followed by a presentation from BPPA Director Md. Sakhawat Hossain on BPPA functions, sustainable public procurement, e-GP progress, and women’s participation in public procurement.

After the presentation, participants engaged in an open discussion where they shared their experiences, challenges, and potential opportunities in e-GP and public procurement. They also provided suggestions for making public procurement more accessible to women.

Speaking as the chief guest, Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin, Secretary of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) at the Ministry of Planning, assured the participants that their recommendations would be taken into consideration when amending the procurement act, rules, and e-GP guidelines.

Previously, BPPA organized similar workshops aimed at increasing women’s participation in public procurement, during which the IMED Secretary advised highlighting success stories of women tenderers. BPPA has since gathered several such success stories.

The active participation of women in the e-GP platform aligns with the country’s economic progress, and this workshop was part of that ongoing effort.

BPPA introduced e-GP in 2011, which has been widely accepted by both procuring entities and tenderers for its simplicity, speed, and reliability.