The government has launched an initiative to develop 1,600 women as “home-based childcare” entrepreneurs in a move aimed at increasing women’s participation in the informal sector and strengthening Bangladesh’s growing care economy.
The initiative seeks to establish home-based childcare centres that will provide safe childcare services for working mothers while also creating new income opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
The programme is being implemented under the Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE) project run by the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF).
Confirming the matter, Md Moshiar Rahman, deputy managing director of PKSF, said the RAISE project is one of PKSF’s flagship programmes for skills development.
“The introduction of the home-based childcare initiative under the RAISE project will make a significant contribution to women’s employment generation in Bangladesh,” he added.
According to PKSF, the initiative is expected to create a supportive environment for working mothers by ensuring reliable childcare services, enabling more women to participate in economic activities without worrying about the safety and care of their children.
As part of the programme, interested women will receive support to establish and operate home-based childcare centres in their communities.
PKSF officials believe the initiative will simultaneously create a new group of women entrepreneurs and help strengthen the country’s “care economy” by expanding access to childcare facilities.
Additional World Bank-backed financing
The initiative comes after the government and PKSF signed a subsidiary agreement on 29 April involving $157.5 million in additional financing for the RAISE project.
Under the agreement, the government will receive the funding from the World Bank and transfer it to PKSF for project implementation.
PKSF and its partner organisations will also provide co-financing worth $105.86 million and $25.81 million respectively.
As a result, the total additional financing under the RAISE project will rise to $282.42 million.
Project officials said the additional funding will be used to enhance the capacity of youth and small entrepreneurs living in remote and climate-vulnerable regions across the country.
Special priority will be given to disadvantaged communities in char, haor, coastal and hill tract areas.
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