Female Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh: Constraints, Motivation and Success

This article attempts to examine the small enterprise in three regions (Dhaka, Chittagong and Rangpur) of Bangladesh at two levels: the individual and the enterprise. This paper aims to investigate the constraints female entrepreneurs face during their initial stage and continued operation of their business, and the work-family conflicts they face. It also looks at the reasons for starting a new business and their success factors. Field study method is applied in an effort to develop case studies of successful female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh; hence the focus was on in-depth research as opposed to having a large sample size. The Likert-scale 3 1 Department of International Business, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). Email: was also used to measure the work-family conflict. The initial problems faced by the female entrepreneurs seem similar to those confronted by female in other countries. However, the findings shows lower levels of work-family conflicts among Bangladeshi female entrepreneurs who seem to differ with other countries in terms of their reasons for starting a business and succeeding in the venture.