More than half of women-owned enterprises (WoEs) and procuring entities are unaware of sustainable public procurement (SPP) policies, posing a challenge to the government's long-term development goals, a new survey has revealed.

"Around 60 percent of WoEs are unaware of the SPP policies, while only 23 percent of procuring entities are fully familiar with them," the survey said.

The SPP policies were announced in December 2023 by the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) under the planning ministry, with the aim of integrating environmental, social, and economic sustainability into public procurement practices.

The Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), in partnership with the International Trade Centre, BPPA, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, surveyed 40 WoEs, procuring entities, and policymakers between November 2024 and January 2025 to identify challenges and opportunities in implementing SPP policies.

Among the 90 percent of surveyed WoEs participating in public procurement, nearly 60 percent prefer the simpler request-for-quotation method, according to the survey.

Only 30 percent of WoEs use the more complex open tendering method, it added.

Women-owned businesses face challenges in public procurement, including gender bias, lack of connections, red tape, payment delays, and limited business skills, the survey reported.

Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of BUILD, unveiled the findings today at a policy dialogue on the country's sustainable public procurement policy, held at the Six Seasons Hotel in Dhaka.

"The findings highlight the urgent need for capacity building, awareness, and more inclusive frameworks to ensure equal participation in public procurement," she said.

To address these challenges, the report recommended forming a joint BPPA–procuring entity task force to develop an action plan and a gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation framework.

Other suggestions included standardising the definition of WoEs, collecting gender-disaggregated data through the electronic government procurement system, and organising targeted workshops for procuring entities.

A high-powered steering committee, led by the planning adviser, is already working on these issues, BPPA CEO Mirza Ashfaqur Rahman said at the event.

"SPP is not just a procurement reform; it's a paradigm shift in how we approach sustainability," he said.

Ma Diyina Gem Arbo, policy lead of ITC's SheTrades initiative, in her presentation, highlighted a gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation framework with a standard definition of women-owned business.

She proposed a structured database from all procuring entities across the country and called for SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) indicators to track gender impacts effectively.

She also stressed the need for women entrepreneurs to be better informed about gender provisions in public procurement policies.