Building a Thriving Business in Bangladesh

Hosneyara, 38, lives in a village in the Satkhira district in Bangladesh with her husband and children. As is often the case in her community, Hosneyara was married very young, after completing her education in grade 5. She was dependent on her husband to support the family, but as a rickshaw driver, her husband earned an average of just 1.50 taka a day ($1.75 CAD). They struggled to meet their family’s needs.

For years, Hosneyera felt she could do nothing to alleviate the hard realities of her daily life. Then in 2018 she joined a women’s group facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, Faith in Action (FIA). She and the other group members each contributed 20 taka ($0.23 CAD) weekly to a savings pool and learned the discipline of saving. Hosneyara also took part in literacy and accounting training, and she participated in Income Generating Activities (IGA) training opportunities in small business, poultry farming, and vegetable gardening. She was eager to start her own small business but didn’t have the funds needed, so she just continued depositing 20 taka each week into her group savings account.

By 2021, the women’s group savings had grown large enough for members to take out low-interest loans. Hosneyara took out a loan and bought a rickshaw so that her husband wouldn’t have to rent one anymore. In 2023, after paying back that loan, she borrowed more money, and she and her husband transformed their rickshaw into a food cart. Hosneyara began preparing snacks that her husband could sell from the food cart.

Hosneyara is now a partner in this thriving business. In 2024 she hired two women from her FIA group to help her make all the snacks needed to meet the demands of her family’s business venture.

“This program built my capacity to be a good manager of my business and my family,” Hosneyara said. “Today we have no financial crisis. We are enjoying a happy family life. I am thankful to FIA and World Renew.”