Expert Opinions & Stories

The rapid growth of digitalization has fundamentally altered commerce, impacting production and facilitating the movement of goods. The 2023 Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR), has…

For Shristi Shrestha, in addition to the challenges of registering her business and accessing finance, a major challenge she has had to overcome as a woman entrepreneur has been that of societal…

In a world grappling with climate change, innovative solutions are the need of the hour. BillionCarbon, an Indian climate tech start-up founded by siblings Ankita and Nikhil Vijayvergiya, is at the…

33-year old Laom Ry started her roadside noodle shop with just US$20 – the sum of the monthly rent she pays for the small plot of land on the outskirts of Siem Reap City, Cambodia.  Alongside…

Since moving to Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu ten years ago, 33-year-old Sumita Rai has experienced her share of ups and downs. Starting her new life in the city as a cleaner, the young mother found…

For Ou Sokphanna, who lost her leg to a landmine explosion when she was young, opportunities for income generation have always been limited, with widespread discrimination preventing her from…

33-year-old Rina Akhtar, hailing from Dhaka, Bangladesh, found herself grappling with adversity when her husband deserted her, leaving her to raise their two daughters alone.

Undeterred by the…

In 2019, Sonika Manandhar and Tiffany Tong teamed up to found Aloi – a Kathmandu-based fintech company that supports informal micro entrepreneurs in Nepal to overcome difficulties in accessing formal…

The demand for adopting more inclusive value chains in the private sector is apparent on all fronts. Customers are more mindful of their purchases, with extensive access to product information…

Nourin Haque Ridi is CEO and co-founder of Dark Kak – a Bangladeshi tech start-up that produces smart jewellery designed to protect women from gender-based violence and crime through innovations in…

In the dynamic economic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, a significant investment opportunity is emerging: institutional investors' capacity to champion gender equality through gender-lens…

Following a casual conversation with a friend who happens to be a blind software engineer, Tran Khanh Dung was enlightened to the multiple obstacles to digital accessibility faced by individuals with…

Ponny Lim runs a thriving aquaculture enterprise in Cambodia, growing her business with the support of a United Nations programme that guarantees loans to women entrepreneurs who are beyond…

Globally, it is estimated that over 70 per cent of women-owned businesses are either financially underserved or unserved. This gender finance gap deprives women and women-led businesses of crucial…

In the heart of India's agricultural landscape, smallholder farmers, comprising 70 per cent of the sector, face a significant barrier: limited access to formal financial institutions and resources…

Selyn, a women-led handloom business, offers flexible employment and valuable income opportunities to about 1,000 women artisans and persons from marginalized groups in rural Sri Lanka. Selyn…

In the bustling financial hub of Singapore, Rhea See, an early-stage fund manager, leads an accelerator platform dedicated to empowering women in technology. She firmly believes that investing in…

In emerging economies across Asia and the Pacific, women - especially in rural areas - are not able to access finance. This is rooted in gender discriminatory norms and practices which lead women to…

The potential of e-commerce to drive inclusive development has been debated for decades. As far back as 2002, then-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan, in the publication titled E-Commerce…

Women's businesses, particularly women's agricultural businesses, are often seen as too risky for investment. This is compounded by the fact that many women lack collateral such as land ownership,…