Asma Akter, 38, is not only a successful entrepreneur in Bangladesh, but she is also the only female business owner in her area called Bogura Sadar. The path that led her to this unusual situation started out just like many women, but then her life took an unexpected turn.

Her family arranged for her to be married after completing 10th grade. In line with societal expectations, she focused on being a homemaker and caretaker of her three daughters, and she never took much interest in the small business that her husband ran. That all changed when he passed away unexpectedly in 2020, and in an instant she became responsible for supporting her family of four. She had no other option but to take charge of her husband’s company, Belal Engineering, a workshop manufacturing agricultural machinery. 

In the beginning, Asma struggled to understand business and management. She found that many partners and customers did not respect her just because she is a woman. But she didn’t let that stop her. Rather than become discouraged, she set out to acquire the skills and knowledge she knew she needed. Through her own industrious nature, she met iDE who introduced her to new dealers and a microfinance institution. She learned from iDE’s business training that she could grow the company by expanding her work force and providing them with training. She also applied for a loan. After one loan officer refused her for not having a male guarantor, eventually she was granted a loan of 3 lacs (≈ 3,500 USD) to fund her vision to expand. 

Today, Belal Engineering is growing. With eight staff members under Asma's leadership, they are manufacturing new and higher-quality products.