Bangladesh Social Enterprise Project - Bangladesh Enterprise Institute

“Rural Centre Model Creating Flexible
Employment Opportunities for the Poor”
Hathay Bunano Proshikhan Society (Hathay Bunano) is a social enterprise, aiming to create flexible
employment opportunities for women in rural Bangladesh while generating returns comparable to a
for-profit enterprise. It manufactures children's products generally infants and children 0-6 years old.
Founded in 2005 with a personal investment of only $500, Hathay Bunano today employs 3500
women across a network of 32 rural co-operatives, sells toys in the US, UK, Australia, Europe and
Bangladesh and generates sufficient returns to be self-sustaining.
Hathay Bunano p.s. is a non-profit society and as such any profits
achieved are re-invested in the communities. Its long term vision is to
provide community midwifery in the communities in which it works.
Hathay Bunano aims to create rural employment that is fairly paid,
good quality, flexible and local. With this view the entrepreneurs have
established a Rural Centre that is effectively a small production unit of
50-100 women, with an aim to provide employment within the
community to prevent worker emigration to cities. The centre provides
training to women from local communities, empowering them with skills
that enable them to earn a living. Training programs include embroidery, book-keeping and English
Language Training.
Hathay Bunano has also established a Finishing Centre where all the products that the members of
the rural centers make, are packed and distributed. Hathay Bunano p.s. specializes in hand knitting,
hand crochet and hand embroidery and sell these products worldwide to mainstream retailers and
distributors. They are currently exporting about 30,000 products per month all over the world.
Hathey Bunano partnered with Professor Yunus, Nobel Laureate 2006, in a new Monga project
aimed at eradicating Monga in the North West of Bangladesh. They are also working with Action Aid
in Kurigram to help a group of young women who were forced into childhood marriage and have
subsequently been divorced, mainly through dowry problems. They are training them and as they
finish their training they bring these young women into production capacity.
They work with the CRP (Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed) centre in both Savar and
Mymensingh and employ women in wheelchairs who have suffered from spinal injury.
In the past 6 months Hathay Bunano p.s. has been expanding rapidly and its customer base is
increasing. In the light of this they have started a project to develop a Social Compliance Standard for
their rural centers. They are also currently working on a Production Compliance Standard for the rural
centre model to enable themselves to work with ever larger and more standardized companies and
again this is something that they hope to share within their industry to enable the model for
employment through rural centers to be expanded.
Hathay Bunano is a social enterprise creating sustainable rural employment that fits in with the
artisan’s rural way of life rather than employment which dictates the rhythm of their lives while
generating significant returns.
Source: Materials provided by Hathay Bunano
Data Source: Secondary Literature
Information Compiled by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI). For further information, please contact Mr. Md. Rashedur
Rahman, Research Associate, BEI; Tel: +88 02 9892662-3 Ext: 120; Cell: +88 01712 193400; Email: rashed@bei-bd.org;
Weblink: www.bei-bd.org