A grassroots enterprise rarely fails because the owner lacks effort or skill at her craft. It stalls because nobody ever taught her how to price a product, keep a cash book, package for a retailer, or talk to a bank.
That is the gap AGWEB’s training programme is built to close. The association has run close to 100 training programmes at its institute and taken members to more than 90 events, and the curriculum has been shaped by what members repeatedly get stuck on.
The training pillars
1. Enterprise development fundamentals
For members at the very start: identifying a viable product, understanding a local market, separating household and business money, and setting up the simplest possible record system.
Most participants arrive already selling something. The training turns activity into a business with visible numbers.
2. Costing and pricing
Consistently the highest-impact session AGWEB runs, and the cheapest to deliver.
Participants learn to build a unit cost from raw materials, their own labour valued at a real rate, overhead allocation and wastage — then set a margin. Many discover in a single afternoon that a product they have sold for two years loses money.
3. Product quality, packaging and labelling
The difference between a product that sells at a village haat and one a Dhaka retailer will stock is usually finishing and packaging, not craftsmanship.
Sessions cover consistent sizing and specification, packaging that survives courier transit, labelling requirements, and — for food producers — the compliance path to selling in retail outlets.
4. Bookkeeping and financial literacy
A cash book, a stock record, and the discipline to use them. Members learn to calculate profit per product, spot which lines to drop, and produce the records banks ask for.
5. Access to finance
Practical, not theoretical: which schemes a member qualifies for, what a personal-guarantee loan under the women’s refinance scheme actually requires, how to assemble the document pack, how to write a business plan a loan officer will accept, and what to do if an application is refused.
6. Digital selling and e-commerce
Setting up and running a business page properly, product photography with a phone, writing listings that convert, handling orders and returns, working with couriers, and accepting digital payments through merchant accounts.
This has moved from an optional module to a core one, because it is now the main route by which grassroots products reach customers outside their own district.
7. Leadership and negotiation
Buyer negotiation, group leadership within clusters, and public presentation. Members who can represent themselves at a fair or a bank branch convert opportunities that others do not.
Resources beyond the classroom
Market platforms. AGWEB facilitates member participation in the National SME Product Fair and comparable exhibitions — the single most effective way for a grassroots producer to meet wholesale buyers.
The AGWEB online shop. A ready-made digital storefront at agweb.org.bd/shop so members can sell online without building and maintaining their own channel.
Publications and research. The association’s publication library includes work on the critical factors affecting grassroots women and on women’s empowerment outcomes, available at agweb.org.bd/ova_doc.
Newsletter. Monthly news, opportunities and resources delivered to members’ inboxes.
Partner programmes. Through its work with the Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Commerce, SME Foundation, BSCIC and development partners including ADB, AGWEB channels members toward external training calendars, cluster programmes and trade facilitation initiatives such as the SheTrades Bangladesh Hub.
Peer network. Members meet women in the same trade facing the same constraints — often the fastest source of a practical answer about a supplier, a courier or a buyer.
How training is delivered
Sessions run at the AGWEB institute in Dhaka and, for cluster programmes, in members’ own districts. Formats include short intensive workshops, multi-day courses, seminars around fairs and events, and follow-up support after training.
The design principle is straightforward: short enough that a woman running a household and a business can attend, and specific enough that she can apply it the same week.
How to join a training
- Become an AGWEB member — see Become a Member
- Watch the Activities page and the newsletter for upcoming sessions
- Contact the office directly for cluster or group training in your area: info@agweb.org.bd, +8801733200886
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an existing business to join a training?
No. Sessions are open to both existing and aspiring entrepreneurs, though established members get more out of costing and finance modules.
Is training available outside Dhaka?
Yes, through cluster and partner programmes. Contact the office about bringing a session to your district.
What language is training delivered in?
Primarily Bangla, with materials in Bangla and English.
Is there a certificate?
Participation certificates are issued for completed programmes, which are useful when applying to institutional programmes and fairs.