Bilal9
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2014
- Messages
- 26,569
- Reaction score
- 9
- Country
- Location
DOLONCHAPA, a privately operated Women-only Bus service in Bangladesh launched by Ranks
The event was graced by Honorable Minister Mr. Obaidul Quader, MP, Ministry of Road,Transport and Bridges.
Mr. Enayet Ullah, Secretary General, BSPMS, Mr. SS Gill, Sr. Vice President and Head of Int. Business, VECV, Mr. Abdur Rouf Chowdhury, Chairman Rangs Group, were also present during the event.
Congratulations are due to Mrs. Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, Director, Rangs Group for her vision, persistence and the team behind the relentless effort in making this project take shape.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faraaz Hossain Center launched at CRP
Star Report
When Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain was a high school student at the American International School of Dhaka, he had to do certain amount of social work per year. He got involved with the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar.
“It was not just the social work that he had to do... He went well beyond that. He would dedicate his time for those who are here to help those in need,” recalled Faraaz's elder brother Zaraif Ayaat Hossain.
Faraaz even approached Valerie Taylor, founder of the CRP, as he was inspired by her work and passion.
To honour his memories, Faraaz Hossain Foundation has established Faraaz Hossain Center at CRP with a vision to support people with special needs.
Guests visit the newly-opened centre, Photo: Palash Khan
Three deans -- Dr Joseph Moon, Douglas A Hicks and Kevin Smyrl -- of Oxford College at Emory University in US, where Faraaz was a student, inaugurated the centre on the third floor of Rotary Bhaban at CRP yesterday.
Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain, 20, along with his friends Tarishi Jain and Abinta Kabir, was dining at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on the fateful night of July 1, 2016.
During the attack, the militants, who mostly targeted foreign nationals, asked Faraaz to leave. Faraaz refused to leave his friends behind and was eventually killed along with his friends.
Faraaz, grandson of Transcom Group Chairman Latifur Rahman and Shahnaz Rahman, received posthumous awards and recognitions from global and national organisations for his courage and sacrifice.
“We will try -- in whatever capacity we can -- from the Faraaz Hossain Foundation to continue the work,” Zaraif said at the inaugural programme.
Special-needs children perform songs at the opening ceremony. Photo: Palash Khan
Dean Douglas A Hicks said as Faraaz's teachers, they are very proud to be associated with the legacy of Faraaz, which transcends borders.
“It takes courage to do what you do to see a better tomorrow for these beautiful children,” Hicks said. These children will benefit from this centre, he added.
Special-needs children perform dance at the opening ceremony. Photo: Palash Khan
Dean Joseph Moon recalled the first time he met Faraaz when he was a first-year student at Oxford College. He was a very kind young man with strong ideals and insights, Moon added.
“We have learned over and over again the way Faraaz's life has inspired others,” he said.
Maj Gen (retd) Shafiq-ul Islam, executive director of CRP, said Faraaz Hossain Center will help empower the marginalised patients.
Present at the programme among Faraaz's family members were Latifur Rahman, his grandfather and chairman of Transcom Group; his mother Simeen Hossain and grandmother Shahnaz Rahman.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hire Power: How BRAC’s Skills Development Programme’s comprehensive approach to technical education will create sustainable employment
By Ashfaque Zaman
Latifa Akhter Shimu is a sparking change in a male-dominated Light Engineering Sector that employs 600,000 people across Bangladesh. She is the proud owner of a light engineering workshop in Tongi, which she has successfully been running for two decades. Latifa has made her profitable business into a family trade, training her husband to join her workshop. This decision helped her sustain when she had taken a sabbatical to raise her children.
The promising sector currently produces over 10,000 products and contributes to 2% of the GDP. When Latifa returned to her workshop, she had realized that her lack of knowledge was lead to dimmer prospects in her business. Latifa enrolled in the BRAC’s training program, PROGRESS (pro-poor growth of rural enterprises through sustainable skills development), a project of SDP with the donor group, the European Union. She learned bookkeeping skills, how to network with potential clients, and help her business expand. She is now an information secretary of the Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association. Latifa radiates the progress that only technical education and market knowledge can support in a competitive market.
PROGRESS is one of the many projects in BRAC’s Skill Development Programme (SDP), which is equipping a nation with the knowledge and tools to create a more progressive and proficient technical sector.
Asif Saleh, Senior Director Strategy, Communications and Empowerment BRAC & BRAC International
BUILDING BRIDGES ON A SOLID FOUNDATION
The Bangladesh Government has now recognized that technical education is a viable solution to meet the ever-increasing employee pool; their commendable work has led to an increase in technical education from a mere 1% to 14%. While infrastructure identifies the areas of growth, it is not enough to create an inclusive employment pool. Asif Saleh points out that a tripartite agreement between the government, private sectors, and workers will propel a qualified environment, “The government needs to make sure that certain regulatory standards are in place and they must heavily consider the requirements of the private sector in this context. If you spend a massive amount of training on a set skill that does not translate to a job in the respective sector, there is a disconnect across the employment field.”
Thought the unemployment rate of 4.37% does not seem like much, but there is an average of 2.2 million people enter the labour force every year. “Our work goes beyond providing skills because we understand that connecting the government’s infrastructure to private sector employment involves forging partnerships. And we are there to provide the software for the government.” SDP is currently working with a number of RMG factories, setting up training centres right next to their factories. He explains that the best way to incentivize training is to ensure that people will get a job, “A guaranteed job helps us sell the training. Moreover, some factories provide costs or raw materials making it easier to facilitate the course. We are also focusing on the economic zones and tailoring the education to fit the needs of prevalent industries and sectors in that regions.”
Tasmiah T Rahman, Head of Programme, Skills Development BRAC
PLACING THE RED TAPE ON THE INFORMAL SECTOR
Recent studies have indicated that 8 out of 10 persons in the labour force are a part of the informal economy; collectively they equate to more than 64% of the GDP. Tasmiah Tabassum Rahman explains that informal sector grows organically and formalizing it will take a matter of time: “Policies and processes to merge these sectors can only occur when you understand the complexities of employment on a national scale, the rate of which it is growing, and what is causing this growth.” She uses the RMG sector, which employs 3.5 million people to illustrate this example. “The government has some set standards that a garment industry has to meet and this includes auditing, taxes, and inspections. You cannot just say that these will apply to a micro-enterprise such as a local tailor shop. This is not a one size fits all scenario.”
Tasmiah wants to see a change of perspective, “Establishing a formal system in the informal economy should not be about standards. It needs to be looking at the lack of systems they are under; a primary concern is the lack of taxation.” Today’s digitized economy requires a TIN and national identification for processes such as loans. Many of these people lack the knowledge or access to create accounts and procure loans. “The government needs to step in and make these processes easier. Most of these small enterprises will not want to deal with such lengthy amounts of paperwork and will ultimately remain in a completely informal setting. It is ultimately about showing them long-term benefits through ease of process.”
ADJUSTING THE FRAME OF MIND
A recent study has shown that 60% of RMG workers only receive one to two week of training. Asif equates the lack of focus on skills is the result of a finger pointing, “The conundrum starts with the private sector stating that there is a dearth of skilled workers. On the other hand, there is massive unemployment and underemployment. When asked if they are willing to pay better wages for skilled labor, they are not very keen.” Bangladesh has one of the lowest minimum wages in the sector, $68, compared to India and Cambodia, where is $140 and $137 respectively. “For many people, skills training is extremely costly and the ultimate goal is to earn a higher living. It is common that a person entering skills training is hesitant because of the opportunity cost of leaving their current livelihood and lack of guarantee of a better job.”
BRAC ISD is one of the 14,000 training centers across Bangladesh. The program has tried a number of incentives in order to attract people to their training course: “We have provided bus services, stipends, and other incentives to bring people to our centers and there were still a large number of dropout. In most cases, the long-term benefits were not foreseeable.”
Tasmiah pointed out her interactions with students enrolled in the BRAC ISD program and it is very common for them to pursue vocational training after obtaining a degree, “Many students have a college degree but join because they have no jobs. There are recent cases where students have to go to Saudi Arabia and are now working there because foreign income is more lucrative.” A private education is expensive in consideration to the income bracket. The minimum salary for a government job in Bangladesh is Tk. 15,250, which may not be worth the large investment of a four-year degree. She draws attention to the family dynamic for being a hindering factor for many job opportunities. “You often see that many factory managers are from neighbouring nations such as India and Sri Lanka. This is because employees and parents do not want to say that they themselves or their children work in factories. They do not even bother to apply. It will commonly be looked down upon that someone with a degree is not employed in a stereotypical white-collar job.”
Asif wants to change the perception of vocational training and he evaluates the practicality of it for employment: “There are 300,000 students graduating from universities every year and more than half of them are unemployed. The large number that comes from poor families have invested a huge chunk of their finances in education thinking a degree will get them out of poverty. However, they are graduating with no employable skills and there is have massive frustration when they do not find jobs.” The youth (age 15-24) is the largest growing demographic in the country; the 41% of them that are unemployed highlight the need for expanding mindsets to other forms of employment. “There are 400,000 people appearing for the BCS and entering university every year. The sad fact is, there are only about 2,000 jobs within these qualified fields and a vast majority settle for a job that is below their capacity.”
LOOKING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL FOR MORE OPPORTUNITY
BRAC has tackled and scaled development solutions for over 45 years and it allows them to continually scale to newer opportunities. Asif was surprised at the success that SDP is having with madrasas. “Our pilot program in madrasas are receiving a positive response. These children come from a very poor background and will not be able to afford university. Skills training gives them a scope for jobs as opposed to opening another madrasa.” There are 9,319 Alia madrasas with approximately 2.4 million students throughout the nations; only three of which are registered with the government.
The NGO is also focused on creating quality in aspiring sectors such as mobile and tech.
Asif emphasized a greater focus on the tech sector, “Bangladesh is rapidly digitizing and the demand for these jobs are also increasing demand for tech solution as well as mobile servicing. This service sector is particularly lucrative because companies are fond of hiring freelance workers for set tasks.” The IT sector generated $1.1 billion in revenue last year and is projected to expand to $4.8 billion by 2025.
WHEN 130,000 SQUARE KILOMETERS IS NOT ENOUGH
Bangladesh ranks ninth in remittance, earning nations with $13.53 billion in 2017. Asif infers that skilled workers will not only increase this amount, “We need to promote portable skills such as construction or hospitality into our workforce so that they can find better jobs outside the country. The government has conducted a commendable survey to find new countries and possibilities for migrant workers in those areas.” A primary reason for remittance lagging behind the Philippines, Indonesia, and India is the result of a lack of skills.
BRAC SDP, supported by a strategic partnership between Governments of UK and Australia and BRAC, currently developing a hospitality program in Cox’s Bazar that will help train workers for the tourism sector in that area. The program is focused on decentralizing training facilities away from Dhaka. “Our training facilities will have assessors who can provide markers that recognize prior learning and experience to certify individuals on their area of expertise. We want our students to have the skill set to work within the country or migrate.”
Tasmiah and her team look into potential sectors that will grow in the coming years, “We have already identified that the caregiving industry in areas such as Japan, the US, and Scandinavian countries will have an increasingly elderly population. These jobs are traditionally taken by the immigrant population in the respective nation.” The global elderly population (aged 60+) is expected to increase to 1.8 billion by 2030. This demographic shift is growing fastest in East Asia; the region is projected to have 439 million elderly persons in the next decade. “This opportunity will also be beneficial for women as current trends show that 80% of women domestic workforce is female. If we can equip them with the skills to provide care, they will be able to procure a much higher income through migration. The number of female migrants has increased by over 200% in the last five years.” Japan accepts up to 1,000 foreign nurses and care workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam per year through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). “These partnerships agreements are one of the key steps that will ensure better jobs for migrants from Bangladesh.”
SHARDS OF A BROKEN GLASS CEILING
The National Budget has allocated its 29.65% of its total budget for women’s development; this would mean a whopping Tk. 1,37,742 crore. BRAC has always been a female-centred organization since its inception. Tasmiah states, “All of the SDP programs focus on women. STAR has more than 40% of women, and our light engineering project has a target of reaching 40% female learner as well. We are also working a number of project designs that target only women.” This is because certain trades are stereotyped as female trades; i.e. tailoring and RMG sector. But the labour market should have equal access to both men and women in all trades. Thus, BRAC is in the process of creating examples in the labour market that will showcase female workers in trades that are traditionally occupied by men.
Nevertheless, there are a number of challenges when placing women in a training programs which include the sensitivity of the trainer: “If you look at the most obvious example, the local bazaars, they will not want to hire women because they don’t want to take the responsibility or risk of harassment after it becomes dark. Gender training, responsibility for equal rights and recognition, and behavioural changes all are necessary to foster an environment that allows for women to work.”
She contends that working with employers to build solutions and an egalitarian culture is the solution. “If I were to take 200 women to an electric company to build bulbs, many employers would want to know the incentives. Are they going to receive any government stipends? What is the value addition in hiring women? And this dialogue needs to change.”
CURRICULUM VITAE OF A CONSTANT INNOVATOR
BRAC’s outreach throughout the nation is their greatest strength; its grounded approach creates the most effective results. Asif Saleh postulates, “Our good working relationship with the private sector and government put us in position to facilitate an effective recipe for skilling Bangladesh which can help the larger skills ecosystem in the country.” SDP currently works in 46 districts throughout the country and plans to expand its venture. Tasmiah adds, “We take many factors into consideration when creating a training center, especially in rural areas where it is more expensive. The location, access, and quality must be worth the investment for potential students given that this is a significant financial output.”
The NGO takes on a very customized approach to a traditional matter such as apprenticeship training, modifying it to the most suitable context of the local region. Tasmiah details that each workshop or program works to create opportunity with considerations to the employment dynamic of the area, “We have programs that are 360 hours through a span of six months. These students can either learn a number of skills from building their own businesses to prevocational examination preparation in order to sit for government certification.” Many of BRAC’s donor projects are geared towards the supply side and the generation of employment. However, this is not enough to ensure that the worker is ready for the market. “SDP also works on creating an enabling environment. Our trainees or master craftsmen are taught the traits of a market and how to foster vocational growth. We also teach workers what a decent job is so they can negotiate a certain level of pay, worker rights, and standard conditions. In terms of the employer, we draw their attention to the ILO’s definition of a decent job in order to promote healthier working conditions.”
Asif details that nudging a potential employee with the benefit markers of a formal economic system helps, “When you are trying to convince them to invest time and energy in obtaining certification or formal recognition of their prior learning, you must also instil a sense of confidence in the individuals. Once we demonstrate that certifications allow them to demand a higher salary, and prove their skill level, they are more willing to participate in the program.”
REAL-TIME RESUME: SOLUTIONS THROUGH DIGITAL INTERVENTIONS
With any white collar job, an interview board has already seen the candidate’s history before they enter the boardroom. However, would you ask a carpenter to make a chair or a welder to mould a bed frame as a reference? Asif expounds on the BRAC’s project with a large international company, “We have partnered with them in order to create a system of job matching. The employers rating system will help monitor the duration, quality, and experience of a worker. The program has been built to create an automatic resume for each candidate.” The project’s success would change the mannerism of hiring across all sectors, many of which still use the rudimentary concept of putting up a notice. Tasmiah compares this to services such as Uber or Airbnb, “If you are looking for a tailor with a particular speciality. The service will help you find a number of tailors with their history.” It is also exciting because it will work as a tracking system for workers. SDP usually places graduates in a job and tracks them for a duration of three to six months. “Monitoring candidates for a prolonged period becomes a challenge because they are highly mobile and often change their number. We are only able to track about 50% for longer periods of time. SDP will now be able to do thorough impact assessments of our numerous projects and programs.”
*Photo Courtesy: BRAC
Source: IBT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solving The Public Toilet Problem In Bangladesh, One Toilet At A Time: An Interview With Farhana Rashid, Founder and CEO, Bhumijo
Shabiba Binte Habib
Startups, July 26, 2018
Farhana Rashid is the founder and CEO of Bhumijo, a startup that focuses on building a healthy environment and a healthy city for healthy people.
In this interview, she walks us through her journey to entrepreneurship, how the idea of Bhumijo came into being, the state of Bhumijo’s business now, challenges for Bhumijo, and its ambition going forward, the advantage of doing good work, how Bhumijo’s grown during her time as one of the debut incubatee startups of BRAC’s Urban Innovation Challenge program – an incubator program for social enterprise, how UIC has helped Bhumijo to get to execution, build new connections and enter the market, and reflects on her lessons on entrepreneurship and why the first step to building a sustainable social enterprise is to really understand your problem deeply.
Future Startup
What is your background and what are you working on now? You started this social enterprise called Bhumijo, what was the motivation behind starting Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
I did my Bachelors in Architecture from BUET. After working for a few years as an architect I decided to study planning and development with a focus on sustainability. I got a scholarship from the Swedish Institute and went to Sweden to study Sustainable urban planning and design.
I returned to Bangladesh in 2016, after the completion of my masters, and joined ‘Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscape, and Settlement’ to coordinate a research on regional planning and development of Dhaka and the surrounding small settlements.
Eventually, I started my own startup Bhumijo with the vision of building livable and resilient cities.
The knowledge and experiences that I gathered from KTH and Sweden, especially the gender perspective in urban planning and design has been a key inspiration in starting Bhumijo.
One of the exciting initiatives of Bhumijo is around how to increase the number of hygienic and secure public toilets in Dhaka for women. There are not enough public toilets and it is even more scarce for women. As the city authority is unable to provide enough and proper public toilet, especially for women, we thought could we come up with a solution that could address this gap which eventually led to the founding of our toilet initiative.
Future Startup
That’s interesting. I have a few questions related to the early days of Bhumijo and we definitely want to learn more about your journey to where you guys are today. Before that, could you please give us an overview of Bhumijo? What are the services you are currently offering and how big is your team?
Farhana Rashid
Bhumijo is a small startup with a focus on building a healthy environment and a healthy city for healthy people. Our work varies from architecture, landscape design, urban design, urban planning and social business. We provide services from small to large scales, research to design, planning to implementation.
One of the problems that we are working on now is the scarcity of public toilets in Dhaka, particularly for women. Due to the lack of public toilets in cities of Bangladesh, women, including me, usually drink less water and avoid using toilets. This is a major cause of health problems such as UTIs and kidney diseases in women. Women often don’t use the existing public toilet because of an unhygienic and insecure environment.
Government agencies like city corporations are not able to meet the demand with their conventional model for the public toilet because of a host of reasons including land scarcity, high budget, and long bureaucratic process. The currently available models of public toilets routinely fail to maintain a clean, hygienic and secure environment in most cases.
Our idea was to develop a business model to solve this challenge quickly and cheaply. We submitted the idea to the first Urban Innovation Challenge (UIC) organized by BRAC in 2017 and our team Bhumijo became the winner in the health category. With the seed funding from BRAC, our first pilot toilet was done and successfully is in operation for last seven months.
Our business, focusing on women, is working to ensure a hygienic and secure public toilet condition in urban areas. Because of the innovative model, we can build at a cheaper cost within a short period of time.
Bhumijo business solution includes market research to implementation of public toilets. After successful execution of the pilot toilet, now we are in the process of scaling up.
Future Startup
Let’s go a little back to your early days. Could you please tell us about what went into building the initial operation of Bhumijo including how did you build the team, put together resources to launch your operation?
Farhana Rashid
We are a team of 5-people including myself and to kickstart our operation we received the seed funding from BRAC.
On the execution end, we started by researching strategic locations for the toilets – where they need to be in order to serve the maximum number of people.
We prepared an assessment matrix to identify the most suitable locations: where people visit regularly in large number, how long they spent there and what kind of people they are.
Based on the assessment matrix we prepared a list of hot zones. For Dhaka, we have about 32 hot-spots and out of these, Gausia and New Market were listed as one of the most important zones. We conducted a detailed survey for that area and found a few sites that we could work on. After negotiations with market authority, we renovated the existing toilet and made it exclusively for women. That’s how we launched our first toilet.
Apart from the resources we invested, that I mentioned earlier, it took an extensive amount of blood, sweat and hard work from every member of the team.
Bhujo was one of the 03 winners of Urban Innovation Challenge 2016
Future Startup
What is your business model? How do you generate revenue?
Farhana Rashid
We have a handful of revenue streams that include fees from planning, direct users, designing, and maintenance of the toilets. Besides that, we do the architectural planning and designing at various scale.
Future Startup
Who are your main customers? As you mentioned in your business model question, you don’t make money from end-users, meaning people who use your toilets, rather from fees that you get from building these facilities.
Farhana Rashid
One one level, city corporations, various private organizations, government agencies, and NGOs working in the WASH sector are our primary customers who take our service to build and maintain these public toilets. At the same time, city people are also our service taker who use our service to improve their daily lives.
Bhumijo at Work: Before the renovation of a Public Toilet \ from Bhumijo’s recent project | Photo by Bhumijo
Future Startup
At the core, yours is more of a b2b business in which case building a business is even more challenging. How have you attracted customers and grown Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
In terms of marketing, we have not done anything concrete or big yet. After the completion of our first toilet, our name has spread and now people are calling us. In a way, word of mouth has been a major growth driver for us.
Apart from that, we are participating in various events to showcase and communicate our work which also allows us to meet customers.
We are also using our personal network and BRAC is also supporting us with their huge network to reach out to new customers.
We are pretty active on social media. We have a Facebook page that allows us to interact with users online.
Future Startup
How big is your team at Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
We are a team of 5 full-timers, including myself. And then we hire project-based employees and volunteers.
We also have local and international advisors who are expert in this sector who have been a tremendous support to our work.
Bhumijo at Work: After the renovation of a Public Toilet \ from Bhumijo’s recent project | Photo by Bhumijo
Future Startup
Other than the BRAC UIC fund, have you raised any investment?
Farhana Rashid
We haven’t received any other investments yet. However, as we are planning to scale up the projects, we are looking for investors and partners.
Future Startup
As you mentioned, you are a graduate of BRAC’s UIC program and it was a game changer for Bhumijo, could you please tell us about your experience of UIC? What has the program been like for you? And how has it helped you in building Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
I can give you a long answer but I will not. BRAC UIC had been a consequential experience for us. Before UIC, our business model was not solid. The program helped us to develop the business model and explore ideas around building multiple revenue streams. We could also launch our first pilot toilet during the program with funding and other supports we received from the program.
We have participated in different workshops and training session which helped us to understand the intricacies of building a social enterprise and successfully running a business.
Each selected UIC team had a dedicated mentor who is an expert in the respective sector. Startups are fragile organizations. Mentorship helped us to think structurally about our business and build a solid operational model.
In short, BRAC UIC had been instrumental in preparing us to build a sustainable social enterprise.
Future Startup
What are some important lessons you’ve learned from the UIC program?
Farhana Rashid
There are so many lessons we have learned. A few really stand out. Firstly, you have to constantly keep on pursuing what you envision. Staying true to your vision is critical.
Social enterprises should be business-wise sustainable. You will really make a meaningful impact when you are sustainable as an organization.
Secondly, you have to understand the problem really well. The deeper your understanding, the better your solution will be and you will have a solid business as well. You business model, customers all stem from understanding the problem well and designing a solution to that.
Future Startup
Would you recommend UIC to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Farhana Rashid
Absolutely. Taking an idea and turning it into a business is a lot of hard work. It is hard to overstate the challenges of starting and building a business. There are so many important pieces involved. BRAC UIC gives us an excellent chance to learn how to do that.
It offers a wonderful learning opportunity for founders to really internalize the nitty-gritty of building a social enterprise. At the same time, it offers solid supports including a seed fund and a huge network and unparalleled access to BRAC resources.
Future Startup
What are the plans going forward?
Farhana Rashid
There is a huge demand for proper toilets in most big cities in Bangladesh and the demand is growing rapidly in big cities like Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Narayanganj etc. In the next five year, our target is to start operation in all the major cities in the country.
Our aim is to ensure healthy and hygienic public toilets throughout Bangladesh. With this aim, we hope to improve the life of millions of people, especially women in Bangladesh. There aren’t many policies for public toilets in Bangladesh. We believe, together with the government, academia and private organizations working in the WASH sector, we can make a real difference in the space.
Urban Innovation Challenge 2018
A message from UIC: Where can you go to learn more about the UIC program?
You can go to http://uic.brac.net/ to learn more about the Urban Innovation Challenge 2018. Applications now open for Urban Innovation Challenge 2018. If you are building or have an idea to solve problems in any of following sectors: Climate change, Healthcare, Low-cost urban housing, Renewable Energy and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), please apply. Application for UIC 2018 is open now and will be closed on August 30th, 2018. This is an excellent opportunity for aspiring social entrepreneurs that comes with a lot of solid venture-building supports starting from seed funding to office space to network and much more.
–
Interview and story by Shabiba Benta Habib
Disclosure: This story was commissioned by BRAC Urban Development Programme (UDP) and developed by Future Startup’s branded content studio Storylab.
The event was graced by Honorable Minister Mr. Obaidul Quader, MP, Ministry of Road,Transport and Bridges.
Mr. Enayet Ullah, Secretary General, BSPMS, Mr. SS Gill, Sr. Vice President and Head of Int. Business, VECV, Mr. Abdur Rouf Chowdhury, Chairman Rangs Group, were also present during the event.
Congratulations are due to Mrs. Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, Director, Rangs Group for her vision, persistence and the team behind the relentless effort in making this project take shape.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faraaz Hossain Center launched at CRP
Star Report
When Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain was a high school student at the American International School of Dhaka, he had to do certain amount of social work per year. He got involved with the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar.
“It was not just the social work that he had to do... He went well beyond that. He would dedicate his time for those who are here to help those in need,” recalled Faraaz's elder brother Zaraif Ayaat Hossain.
Faraaz even approached Valerie Taylor, founder of the CRP, as he was inspired by her work and passion.
To honour his memories, Faraaz Hossain Foundation has established Faraaz Hossain Center at CRP with a vision to support people with special needs.
Guests visit the newly-opened centre, Photo: Palash Khan
Three deans -- Dr Joseph Moon, Douglas A Hicks and Kevin Smyrl -- of Oxford College at Emory University in US, where Faraaz was a student, inaugurated the centre on the third floor of Rotary Bhaban at CRP yesterday.
Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain, 20, along with his friends Tarishi Jain and Abinta Kabir, was dining at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on the fateful night of July 1, 2016.
During the attack, the militants, who mostly targeted foreign nationals, asked Faraaz to leave. Faraaz refused to leave his friends behind and was eventually killed along with his friends.
Faraaz, grandson of Transcom Group Chairman Latifur Rahman and Shahnaz Rahman, received posthumous awards and recognitions from global and national organisations for his courage and sacrifice.
“We will try -- in whatever capacity we can -- from the Faraaz Hossain Foundation to continue the work,” Zaraif said at the inaugural programme.
Special-needs children perform songs at the opening ceremony. Photo: Palash Khan
Dean Douglas A Hicks said as Faraaz's teachers, they are very proud to be associated with the legacy of Faraaz, which transcends borders.
“It takes courage to do what you do to see a better tomorrow for these beautiful children,” Hicks said. These children will benefit from this centre, he added.
Special-needs children perform dance at the opening ceremony. Photo: Palash Khan
Dean Joseph Moon recalled the first time he met Faraaz when he was a first-year student at Oxford College. He was a very kind young man with strong ideals and insights, Moon added.
“We have learned over and over again the way Faraaz's life has inspired others,” he said.
Maj Gen (retd) Shafiq-ul Islam, executive director of CRP, said Faraaz Hossain Center will help empower the marginalised patients.
Present at the programme among Faraaz's family members were Latifur Rahman, his grandfather and chairman of Transcom Group; his mother Simeen Hossain and grandmother Shahnaz Rahman.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hire Power: How BRAC’s Skills Development Programme’s comprehensive approach to technical education will create sustainable employment
By Ashfaque Zaman
Latifa Akhter Shimu is a sparking change in a male-dominated Light Engineering Sector that employs 600,000 people across Bangladesh. She is the proud owner of a light engineering workshop in Tongi, which she has successfully been running for two decades. Latifa has made her profitable business into a family trade, training her husband to join her workshop. This decision helped her sustain when she had taken a sabbatical to raise her children.
The promising sector currently produces over 10,000 products and contributes to 2% of the GDP. When Latifa returned to her workshop, she had realized that her lack of knowledge was lead to dimmer prospects in her business. Latifa enrolled in the BRAC’s training program, PROGRESS (pro-poor growth of rural enterprises through sustainable skills development), a project of SDP with the donor group, the European Union. She learned bookkeeping skills, how to network with potential clients, and help her business expand. She is now an information secretary of the Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association. Latifa radiates the progress that only technical education and market knowledge can support in a competitive market.
PROGRESS is one of the many projects in BRAC’s Skill Development Programme (SDP), which is equipping a nation with the knowledge and tools to create a more progressive and proficient technical sector.
Asif Saleh, Senior Director Strategy, Communications and Empowerment BRAC & BRAC International
BUILDING BRIDGES ON A SOLID FOUNDATION
The Bangladesh Government has now recognized that technical education is a viable solution to meet the ever-increasing employee pool; their commendable work has led to an increase in technical education from a mere 1% to 14%. While infrastructure identifies the areas of growth, it is not enough to create an inclusive employment pool. Asif Saleh points out that a tripartite agreement between the government, private sectors, and workers will propel a qualified environment, “The government needs to make sure that certain regulatory standards are in place and they must heavily consider the requirements of the private sector in this context. If you spend a massive amount of training on a set skill that does not translate to a job in the respective sector, there is a disconnect across the employment field.”
Thought the unemployment rate of 4.37% does not seem like much, but there is an average of 2.2 million people enter the labour force every year. “Our work goes beyond providing skills because we understand that connecting the government’s infrastructure to private sector employment involves forging partnerships. And we are there to provide the software for the government.” SDP is currently working with a number of RMG factories, setting up training centres right next to their factories. He explains that the best way to incentivize training is to ensure that people will get a job, “A guaranteed job helps us sell the training. Moreover, some factories provide costs or raw materials making it easier to facilitate the course. We are also focusing on the economic zones and tailoring the education to fit the needs of prevalent industries and sectors in that regions.”
Tasmiah T Rahman, Head of Programme, Skills Development BRAC
PLACING THE RED TAPE ON THE INFORMAL SECTOR
Recent studies have indicated that 8 out of 10 persons in the labour force are a part of the informal economy; collectively they equate to more than 64% of the GDP. Tasmiah Tabassum Rahman explains that informal sector grows organically and formalizing it will take a matter of time: “Policies and processes to merge these sectors can only occur when you understand the complexities of employment on a national scale, the rate of which it is growing, and what is causing this growth.” She uses the RMG sector, which employs 3.5 million people to illustrate this example. “The government has some set standards that a garment industry has to meet and this includes auditing, taxes, and inspections. You cannot just say that these will apply to a micro-enterprise such as a local tailor shop. This is not a one size fits all scenario.”
Tasmiah wants to see a change of perspective, “Establishing a formal system in the informal economy should not be about standards. It needs to be looking at the lack of systems they are under; a primary concern is the lack of taxation.” Today’s digitized economy requires a TIN and national identification for processes such as loans. Many of these people lack the knowledge or access to create accounts and procure loans. “The government needs to step in and make these processes easier. Most of these small enterprises will not want to deal with such lengthy amounts of paperwork and will ultimately remain in a completely informal setting. It is ultimately about showing them long-term benefits through ease of process.”
ADJUSTING THE FRAME OF MIND
A recent study has shown that 60% of RMG workers only receive one to two week of training. Asif equates the lack of focus on skills is the result of a finger pointing, “The conundrum starts with the private sector stating that there is a dearth of skilled workers. On the other hand, there is massive unemployment and underemployment. When asked if they are willing to pay better wages for skilled labor, they are not very keen.” Bangladesh has one of the lowest minimum wages in the sector, $68, compared to India and Cambodia, where is $140 and $137 respectively. “For many people, skills training is extremely costly and the ultimate goal is to earn a higher living. It is common that a person entering skills training is hesitant because of the opportunity cost of leaving their current livelihood and lack of guarantee of a better job.”
BRAC ISD is one of the 14,000 training centers across Bangladesh. The program has tried a number of incentives in order to attract people to their training course: “We have provided bus services, stipends, and other incentives to bring people to our centers and there were still a large number of dropout. In most cases, the long-term benefits were not foreseeable.”
Tasmiah pointed out her interactions with students enrolled in the BRAC ISD program and it is very common for them to pursue vocational training after obtaining a degree, “Many students have a college degree but join because they have no jobs. There are recent cases where students have to go to Saudi Arabia and are now working there because foreign income is more lucrative.” A private education is expensive in consideration to the income bracket. The minimum salary for a government job in Bangladesh is Tk. 15,250, which may not be worth the large investment of a four-year degree. She draws attention to the family dynamic for being a hindering factor for many job opportunities. “You often see that many factory managers are from neighbouring nations such as India and Sri Lanka. This is because employees and parents do not want to say that they themselves or their children work in factories. They do not even bother to apply. It will commonly be looked down upon that someone with a degree is not employed in a stereotypical white-collar job.”
Asif wants to change the perception of vocational training and he evaluates the practicality of it for employment: “There are 300,000 students graduating from universities every year and more than half of them are unemployed. The large number that comes from poor families have invested a huge chunk of their finances in education thinking a degree will get them out of poverty. However, they are graduating with no employable skills and there is have massive frustration when they do not find jobs.” The youth (age 15-24) is the largest growing demographic in the country; the 41% of them that are unemployed highlight the need for expanding mindsets to other forms of employment. “There are 400,000 people appearing for the BCS and entering university every year. The sad fact is, there are only about 2,000 jobs within these qualified fields and a vast majority settle for a job that is below their capacity.”
LOOKING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL FOR MORE OPPORTUNITY
BRAC has tackled and scaled development solutions for over 45 years and it allows them to continually scale to newer opportunities. Asif was surprised at the success that SDP is having with madrasas. “Our pilot program in madrasas are receiving a positive response. These children come from a very poor background and will not be able to afford university. Skills training gives them a scope for jobs as opposed to opening another madrasa.” There are 9,319 Alia madrasas with approximately 2.4 million students throughout the nations; only three of which are registered with the government.
The NGO is also focused on creating quality in aspiring sectors such as mobile and tech.
Asif emphasized a greater focus on the tech sector, “Bangladesh is rapidly digitizing and the demand for these jobs are also increasing demand for tech solution as well as mobile servicing. This service sector is particularly lucrative because companies are fond of hiring freelance workers for set tasks.” The IT sector generated $1.1 billion in revenue last year and is projected to expand to $4.8 billion by 2025.
WHEN 130,000 SQUARE KILOMETERS IS NOT ENOUGH
Bangladesh ranks ninth in remittance, earning nations with $13.53 billion in 2017. Asif infers that skilled workers will not only increase this amount, “We need to promote portable skills such as construction or hospitality into our workforce so that they can find better jobs outside the country. The government has conducted a commendable survey to find new countries and possibilities for migrant workers in those areas.” A primary reason for remittance lagging behind the Philippines, Indonesia, and India is the result of a lack of skills.
BRAC SDP, supported by a strategic partnership between Governments of UK and Australia and BRAC, currently developing a hospitality program in Cox’s Bazar that will help train workers for the tourism sector in that area. The program is focused on decentralizing training facilities away from Dhaka. “Our training facilities will have assessors who can provide markers that recognize prior learning and experience to certify individuals on their area of expertise. We want our students to have the skill set to work within the country or migrate.”
Tasmiah and her team look into potential sectors that will grow in the coming years, “We have already identified that the caregiving industry in areas such as Japan, the US, and Scandinavian countries will have an increasingly elderly population. These jobs are traditionally taken by the immigrant population in the respective nation.” The global elderly population (aged 60+) is expected to increase to 1.8 billion by 2030. This demographic shift is growing fastest in East Asia; the region is projected to have 439 million elderly persons in the next decade. “This opportunity will also be beneficial for women as current trends show that 80% of women domestic workforce is female. If we can equip them with the skills to provide care, they will be able to procure a much higher income through migration. The number of female migrants has increased by over 200% in the last five years.” Japan accepts up to 1,000 foreign nurses and care workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam per year through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). “These partnerships agreements are one of the key steps that will ensure better jobs for migrants from Bangladesh.”
SHARDS OF A BROKEN GLASS CEILING
The National Budget has allocated its 29.65% of its total budget for women’s development; this would mean a whopping Tk. 1,37,742 crore. BRAC has always been a female-centred organization since its inception. Tasmiah states, “All of the SDP programs focus on women. STAR has more than 40% of women, and our light engineering project has a target of reaching 40% female learner as well. We are also working a number of project designs that target only women.” This is because certain trades are stereotyped as female trades; i.e. tailoring and RMG sector. But the labour market should have equal access to both men and women in all trades. Thus, BRAC is in the process of creating examples in the labour market that will showcase female workers in trades that are traditionally occupied by men.
Nevertheless, there are a number of challenges when placing women in a training programs which include the sensitivity of the trainer: “If you look at the most obvious example, the local bazaars, they will not want to hire women because they don’t want to take the responsibility or risk of harassment after it becomes dark. Gender training, responsibility for equal rights and recognition, and behavioural changes all are necessary to foster an environment that allows for women to work.”
She contends that working with employers to build solutions and an egalitarian culture is the solution. “If I were to take 200 women to an electric company to build bulbs, many employers would want to know the incentives. Are they going to receive any government stipends? What is the value addition in hiring women? And this dialogue needs to change.”
CURRICULUM VITAE OF A CONSTANT INNOVATOR
BRAC’s outreach throughout the nation is their greatest strength; its grounded approach creates the most effective results. Asif Saleh postulates, “Our good working relationship with the private sector and government put us in position to facilitate an effective recipe for skilling Bangladesh which can help the larger skills ecosystem in the country.” SDP currently works in 46 districts throughout the country and plans to expand its venture. Tasmiah adds, “We take many factors into consideration when creating a training center, especially in rural areas where it is more expensive. The location, access, and quality must be worth the investment for potential students given that this is a significant financial output.”
The NGO takes on a very customized approach to a traditional matter such as apprenticeship training, modifying it to the most suitable context of the local region. Tasmiah details that each workshop or program works to create opportunity with considerations to the employment dynamic of the area, “We have programs that are 360 hours through a span of six months. These students can either learn a number of skills from building their own businesses to prevocational examination preparation in order to sit for government certification.” Many of BRAC’s donor projects are geared towards the supply side and the generation of employment. However, this is not enough to ensure that the worker is ready for the market. “SDP also works on creating an enabling environment. Our trainees or master craftsmen are taught the traits of a market and how to foster vocational growth. We also teach workers what a decent job is so they can negotiate a certain level of pay, worker rights, and standard conditions. In terms of the employer, we draw their attention to the ILO’s definition of a decent job in order to promote healthier working conditions.”
Asif details that nudging a potential employee with the benefit markers of a formal economic system helps, “When you are trying to convince them to invest time and energy in obtaining certification or formal recognition of their prior learning, you must also instil a sense of confidence in the individuals. Once we demonstrate that certifications allow them to demand a higher salary, and prove their skill level, they are more willing to participate in the program.”
REAL-TIME RESUME: SOLUTIONS THROUGH DIGITAL INTERVENTIONS
With any white collar job, an interview board has already seen the candidate’s history before they enter the boardroom. However, would you ask a carpenter to make a chair or a welder to mould a bed frame as a reference? Asif expounds on the BRAC’s project with a large international company, “We have partnered with them in order to create a system of job matching. The employers rating system will help monitor the duration, quality, and experience of a worker. The program has been built to create an automatic resume for each candidate.” The project’s success would change the mannerism of hiring across all sectors, many of which still use the rudimentary concept of putting up a notice. Tasmiah compares this to services such as Uber or Airbnb, “If you are looking for a tailor with a particular speciality. The service will help you find a number of tailors with their history.” It is also exciting because it will work as a tracking system for workers. SDP usually places graduates in a job and tracks them for a duration of three to six months. “Monitoring candidates for a prolonged period becomes a challenge because they are highly mobile and often change their number. We are only able to track about 50% for longer periods of time. SDP will now be able to do thorough impact assessments of our numerous projects and programs.”
*Photo Courtesy: BRAC
Source: IBT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solving The Public Toilet Problem In Bangladesh, One Toilet At A Time: An Interview With Farhana Rashid, Founder and CEO, Bhumijo
Shabiba Binte Habib
Startups, July 26, 2018
Farhana Rashid is the founder and CEO of Bhumijo, a startup that focuses on building a healthy environment and a healthy city for healthy people.
In this interview, she walks us through her journey to entrepreneurship, how the idea of Bhumijo came into being, the state of Bhumijo’s business now, challenges for Bhumijo, and its ambition going forward, the advantage of doing good work, how Bhumijo’s grown during her time as one of the debut incubatee startups of BRAC’s Urban Innovation Challenge program – an incubator program for social enterprise, how UIC has helped Bhumijo to get to execution, build new connections and enter the market, and reflects on her lessons on entrepreneurship and why the first step to building a sustainable social enterprise is to really understand your problem deeply.
Future Startup
What is your background and what are you working on now? You started this social enterprise called Bhumijo, what was the motivation behind starting Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
I did my Bachelors in Architecture from BUET. After working for a few years as an architect I decided to study planning and development with a focus on sustainability. I got a scholarship from the Swedish Institute and went to Sweden to study Sustainable urban planning and design.
I returned to Bangladesh in 2016, after the completion of my masters, and joined ‘Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscape, and Settlement’ to coordinate a research on regional planning and development of Dhaka and the surrounding small settlements.
Eventually, I started my own startup Bhumijo with the vision of building livable and resilient cities.
The knowledge and experiences that I gathered from KTH and Sweden, especially the gender perspective in urban planning and design has been a key inspiration in starting Bhumijo.
One of the exciting initiatives of Bhumijo is around how to increase the number of hygienic and secure public toilets in Dhaka for women. There are not enough public toilets and it is even more scarce for women. As the city authority is unable to provide enough and proper public toilet, especially for women, we thought could we come up with a solution that could address this gap which eventually led to the founding of our toilet initiative.
Future Startup
That’s interesting. I have a few questions related to the early days of Bhumijo and we definitely want to learn more about your journey to where you guys are today. Before that, could you please give us an overview of Bhumijo? What are the services you are currently offering and how big is your team?
Farhana Rashid
Bhumijo is a small startup with a focus on building a healthy environment and a healthy city for healthy people. Our work varies from architecture, landscape design, urban design, urban planning and social business. We provide services from small to large scales, research to design, planning to implementation.
One of the problems that we are working on now is the scarcity of public toilets in Dhaka, particularly for women. Due to the lack of public toilets in cities of Bangladesh, women, including me, usually drink less water and avoid using toilets. This is a major cause of health problems such as UTIs and kidney diseases in women. Women often don’t use the existing public toilet because of an unhygienic and insecure environment.
Government agencies like city corporations are not able to meet the demand with their conventional model for the public toilet because of a host of reasons including land scarcity, high budget, and long bureaucratic process. The currently available models of public toilets routinely fail to maintain a clean, hygienic and secure environment in most cases.
Our idea was to develop a business model to solve this challenge quickly and cheaply. We submitted the idea to the first Urban Innovation Challenge (UIC) organized by BRAC in 2017 and our team Bhumijo became the winner in the health category. With the seed funding from BRAC, our first pilot toilet was done and successfully is in operation for last seven months.
Our business, focusing on women, is working to ensure a hygienic and secure public toilet condition in urban areas. Because of the innovative model, we can build at a cheaper cost within a short period of time.
Bhumijo business solution includes market research to implementation of public toilets. After successful execution of the pilot toilet, now we are in the process of scaling up.
Future Startup
Let’s go a little back to your early days. Could you please tell us about what went into building the initial operation of Bhumijo including how did you build the team, put together resources to launch your operation?
Farhana Rashid
We are a team of 5-people including myself and to kickstart our operation we received the seed funding from BRAC.
On the execution end, we started by researching strategic locations for the toilets – where they need to be in order to serve the maximum number of people.
We prepared an assessment matrix to identify the most suitable locations: where people visit regularly in large number, how long they spent there and what kind of people they are.
Based on the assessment matrix we prepared a list of hot zones. For Dhaka, we have about 32 hot-spots and out of these, Gausia and New Market were listed as one of the most important zones. We conducted a detailed survey for that area and found a few sites that we could work on. After negotiations with market authority, we renovated the existing toilet and made it exclusively for women. That’s how we launched our first toilet.
Apart from the resources we invested, that I mentioned earlier, it took an extensive amount of blood, sweat and hard work from every member of the team.
Bhujo was one of the 03 winners of Urban Innovation Challenge 2016
Future Startup
What is your business model? How do you generate revenue?
Farhana Rashid
We have a handful of revenue streams that include fees from planning, direct users, designing, and maintenance of the toilets. Besides that, we do the architectural planning and designing at various scale.
Future Startup
Who are your main customers? As you mentioned in your business model question, you don’t make money from end-users, meaning people who use your toilets, rather from fees that you get from building these facilities.
Farhana Rashid
One one level, city corporations, various private organizations, government agencies, and NGOs working in the WASH sector are our primary customers who take our service to build and maintain these public toilets. At the same time, city people are also our service taker who use our service to improve their daily lives.
Bhumijo at Work: Before the renovation of a Public Toilet \ from Bhumijo’s recent project | Photo by Bhumijo
Future Startup
At the core, yours is more of a b2b business in which case building a business is even more challenging. How have you attracted customers and grown Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
In terms of marketing, we have not done anything concrete or big yet. After the completion of our first toilet, our name has spread and now people are calling us. In a way, word of mouth has been a major growth driver for us.
Apart from that, we are participating in various events to showcase and communicate our work which also allows us to meet customers.
We are also using our personal network and BRAC is also supporting us with their huge network to reach out to new customers.
We are pretty active on social media. We have a Facebook page that allows us to interact with users online.
Future Startup
How big is your team at Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
We are a team of 5 full-timers, including myself. And then we hire project-based employees and volunteers.
We also have local and international advisors who are expert in this sector who have been a tremendous support to our work.
Bhumijo at Work: After the renovation of a Public Toilet \ from Bhumijo’s recent project | Photo by Bhumijo
Future Startup
Other than the BRAC UIC fund, have you raised any investment?
Farhana Rashid
We haven’t received any other investments yet. However, as we are planning to scale up the projects, we are looking for investors and partners.
Future Startup
As you mentioned, you are a graduate of BRAC’s UIC program and it was a game changer for Bhumijo, could you please tell us about your experience of UIC? What has the program been like for you? And how has it helped you in building Bhumijo?
Farhana Rashid
I can give you a long answer but I will not. BRAC UIC had been a consequential experience for us. Before UIC, our business model was not solid. The program helped us to develop the business model and explore ideas around building multiple revenue streams. We could also launch our first pilot toilet during the program with funding and other supports we received from the program.
We have participated in different workshops and training session which helped us to understand the intricacies of building a social enterprise and successfully running a business.
Each selected UIC team had a dedicated mentor who is an expert in the respective sector. Startups are fragile organizations. Mentorship helped us to think structurally about our business and build a solid operational model.
In short, BRAC UIC had been instrumental in preparing us to build a sustainable social enterprise.
Future Startup
What are some important lessons you’ve learned from the UIC program?
Farhana Rashid
There are so many lessons we have learned. A few really stand out. Firstly, you have to constantly keep on pursuing what you envision. Staying true to your vision is critical.
Social enterprises should be business-wise sustainable. You will really make a meaningful impact when you are sustainable as an organization.
Secondly, you have to understand the problem really well. The deeper your understanding, the better your solution will be and you will have a solid business as well. You business model, customers all stem from understanding the problem well and designing a solution to that.
Future Startup
Would you recommend UIC to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Farhana Rashid
Absolutely. Taking an idea and turning it into a business is a lot of hard work. It is hard to overstate the challenges of starting and building a business. There are so many important pieces involved. BRAC UIC gives us an excellent chance to learn how to do that.
It offers a wonderful learning opportunity for founders to really internalize the nitty-gritty of building a social enterprise. At the same time, it offers solid supports including a seed fund and a huge network and unparalleled access to BRAC resources.
Future Startup
What are the plans going forward?
Farhana Rashid
There is a huge demand for proper toilets in most big cities in Bangladesh and the demand is growing rapidly in big cities like Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Narayanganj etc. In the next five year, our target is to start operation in all the major cities in the country.
Our aim is to ensure healthy and hygienic public toilets throughout Bangladesh. With this aim, we hope to improve the life of millions of people, especially women in Bangladesh. There aren’t many policies for public toilets in Bangladesh. We believe, together with the government, academia and private organizations working in the WASH sector, we can make a real difference in the space.
Urban Innovation Challenge 2018
A message from UIC: Where can you go to learn more about the UIC program?
You can go to http://uic.brac.net/ to learn more about the Urban Innovation Challenge 2018. Applications now open for Urban Innovation Challenge 2018. If you are building or have an idea to solve problems in any of following sectors: Climate change, Healthcare, Low-cost urban housing, Renewable Energy and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), please apply. Application for UIC 2018 is open now and will be closed on August 30th, 2018. This is an excellent opportunity for aspiring social entrepreneurs that comes with a lot of solid venture-building supports starting from seed funding to office space to network and much more.
–
Interview and story by Shabiba Benta Habib
Disclosure: This story was commissioned by BRAC Urban Development Programme (UDP) and developed by Future Startup’s branded content studio Storylab.
