The word 'entrepreneur' is derived from the French word entreprendre. It means' to undertake'. An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship. To be precise, ‘Entrepreneurship’ is an entity of people with the ability to see an opportunity where necessary capital, labour, and other inputs operate together and successfully, along with know-how skills and a willingness to take the personal risk of success or failure.
According to the 2011 census, conducted by the government of Bangladesh, the country's indigenous population comprises approximately 1,586,141, or 1.8% of the country's total population. Indigenous people in Bangladesh claim that their population is approximately 5 million. However, the indigenous people in the CHT regions are commonly known as ‘Jumma’ for their crop rotation agriculture, known locally as Jum. The world as we know it is now enormously influenced by entrepreneurs. In the last few decades, Bangladesh has come a long way in the field of entrepreneurship. Still, the participation of people residing in the Chittagong hill tract regions in entrepreneurial activity is not quite satisfactory compared to the advantaged groups of society. Specifically, in the case of large-scale businesses.
In this era of information and technology, online businesses have become very popular and demanding. In fact, at the moment, online businesses are booming. The flourishing e-businesses have created platforms for entrepreneurs and revenue streams. The participation of indigenous people, especially women, in e-business is noticeable. As online businesses are hassle-free and do not require large amounts of capital, labour, or physical shops, they are becoming a very reliable income source for the Jumma community. For instance, traditional attire & jewellery, fashion accessories, baked goods, clothes, cloth bags, pickles and jams, handloom products, vegetables & fruits, etc are mostly the products they sell online. By getting involved in these small and medium-scale businesses, they are able to be self-employed and contribute to the community as well as eliminate the unemployment problem.
However, the road to becoming an entrepreneur and establishing a large-scale business is not easy for Jumma community people. At the entry-level, they face many challenges and barriers, which can be very disappointing and often lead to the question ‘Could business be a good profession?’. Some of the common challenges are illiteracy, poverty, lack of awareness, lack of access to funds, technical skills, unfamiliarity with entrepreneurship training programs, manpower, etc. In addition, starting a business in this region requires more capital, and conflicts and geo-cultural characteristics are factors that discourage entrepreneurial activity. The entrepreneurship field is more difficult and challenging for marginalized indigenous women. Lack of access to financial and business-related literacy is an important factor that is making them less skilled. Hence, they are facing hurdles while trying to be self-employed and run their own businesses. Most of the Jumma community people lack adequate start-up skills and experience in running their enterprises after launch. When they are not academically accomplished and lack a vision for the future of their enterprises and are unable to approach their businesses in a systematic manner, they fail to grow.
The importance of entrepreneurship in a country's economic growth is remarkable. Entrepreneurship is an indicator of countries’ economic development and social wellness. Not only is economic development, but it also provides jobs for the unemployed, increases the standard of living, inspires others to become entrepreneurs and solve others’ problems, and many more. Therefore, in a developing country like ours, where indigenous people are lagging far behind, entrepreneurship can play a dynamic role. To make them more involved in entrepreneurial activities, many initiatives can be taken to solve those mentioned above problems.
Written by Dipita Chakma
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