Women’s economic empowerment is a key driver of gender equality and sustainable growth in emerging economies like Bangladesh. Despite rapid economic progress, women’s formal labor force participation remains low at around 44%, compared to over 80% for men. E-commerce platforms offer a transformative opportunity by removing physical and social barriers, allowing women to access markets more easily. Studies in South Asia indicate that digital marketplaces can boost women’s business revenues by 20-50% through wider reach and lower costs. In Bangladesh, with over 120 million internet users and accelerating e-commerce growth (projected $3–5 billion market by 2025), online platforms hold strong potential. However, persistent challenges women being 20-30% less likely to own smartphones or possess digital skills continue to widen the gender divide. The South Asia Region Gender Innovation Lab (SARGIL), part of the World Bank’s Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice, generated rigorous evidence on “what worked” to promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment across South Asia. SARGIL collaborated with governments, private sector actors, and civil society to design and implement impact evaluations – primarily randomized control trials (RCTs) – that informed policy and programs. The Employer sought to engage a qualified firm to conduct in-depth interviews for qualitative data collection and field-based data collection for a SARGIL-led impact evaluation. dRi was contracted to conduct the assignment through a three-phased mixed-method approach. In the first phase, dRi conducted in-depth interviews with 10 female entrepreneurs selected from a list provided by SARGIL to explore their experiences, challenges, and aspirations related to e-commerce participation. In the second phase, dRi carried out a comprehensive baseline survey with 5,200 female entrepreneurs to establish benchmark indicators for the impact evaluation. This involved developing and executing a targeted recruitment and listing strategy primarily through digital platforms and social media campaigns, screening participants against eligibility criteria, and obtaining informed consent. In the third phase, dRi ensured that at least 85% of the recruited female entrepreneurs attended the training session as part of the impact evaluation.
Serial No: 313
Theme: Financial Inclusion
Research Method: Mixed Method
Partner: The World Bank
Starting Year: 2026
Study Area: Dhaka Metropolitan and outskirts
