UNCDF and its partners launch e-learning modules

C.B.Desk: UNCDF and its partners have developed and launched basic e-learning modules for small and micro-businesses (SMBs) in Bangladesh as part of the Build Back Better – Enhancing Recovery and Resilience of Small and Micro-Businesses project. This project aims to improve the digital and financial literacy of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, particularly women, empowering these entrepreneurs to confidently adopt and leverage new digital services that improve their competitiveness and performance.

In the initial phase of the Build Back Better – Enhancing Recovery and Resilience of Small and Micro-Businesses project, UNCDF and Visa partnered with ShopUp and ekShop, two of the most prominent SMBs integrators in the country. UNCDF and Visa also commissioned a Rapid Needs Assessment to evaluate the existing level of financial and digital literacy of SMBs that was launched at an online event recently with participants from across leading public and private sector organizations globally and in South Asia. 

This study found substantial gaps in the digital literacy levels of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Over 50 percent of SMBs in the study had poor understanding of how digital and financial services could help their businesses, and financial literacy gaps were even more pronounced for women entrepreneurs. These gender gaps remain despite increasing awareness from women-led SMBs on the need to be financially literate, plan and actively manage their personal and business finances.

Based on the above findings from the assessment, UNCDF and Visa, along with local partners, Aspire to Innovate (a2i), ekShop and ShopUp, have developed a custom suite of basic e-learning modules – ekShop landing page (https://academy.ekshop.gov.bd/) and ShopUp landing page 1 and 2 (https://blog.shopup.com.bd/)– on finance and business management, including audio-visual and app-based tools. The modules available for e-learning purposes will be continually updated with additional content. The modules leverage Visa’s Practical Business Skills (PBS) financial educational programme, and they are also specifically designed to target gender-specific gaps in conceptual ability and technical knowledge, focusing on improving knowledge of interest and inflation rate concepts and calculations as well as providing tools to assist in incorporating these concepts for business decision-making.

In the initial roll-out of the e-learning modules, this project will help 5,000 women-led and owned small and micro-businesses acquire the necessary digital and financial capabilities to access and use the tools they need to grow their business in the digital age. This project will give access to digital and financial literacy e-learning modules to 200,000 SMBs over two years.