Meena Bazar 2015 promotes more female entrepreneurs

Women were invited to a unique networking event in a bid to try and integrate people from all backgrounds into the local economy. The White House Hall, in east London hosted the 3rd Meena Bazar on Sunday, December 6. The community gathering organised by Tribute Production Ltd aimed to provide a pathway linking women with businesses and promoting more female entrepreneurs. The event hosted a wide variety of stalls including chefs, caters and sellers of food, boutique and jewellery.
Organiser Hafsa Islam insists the challenges facing women of all foreign-language background should not be under-estimated.
“It can be hard for people coming over here to integrate if they don’t speak the language, especially if they’re slightly older,” she said.
“Often people with language problems can end up sticking to their own community making it much harder to get a job or start a business, so hopefully we can encourage people out of their shell.”
In addition to a range of stalls showcasing some of the enterprises, those attended on the day were also treated to fashion and culture shows, make-overs and photo-shoots.
Five women were awarded for their achievements in social entrepreneurship, culture, socio-economic progress, social work and legal aid sectors.This year; the awards went to Barrister Tahmina Kabir, Momtaz Khan, Nurun Ahmed, Solicitor Kumkum  and China Chowdhury.
The event was jointly conducted by Sajia Afrooz Chowdhury, Barrister Kazi Shahen Shah, where a good number of dignitaries and celebrities were present. Famous singers including Hasan Abidur Reza Jewel,Sadia Afrooz, Nadia Islam, Sumon Sharif, Sajjad, Amin Raja, Shahnaj Sumi and Shefaly entartained the audience with their melodious songs. Child artists from Udichi and Tal Torongo attracted the attention of audience by their dance performance and songs. Country manager of Biman Shafiqul Islam, Editor of Bangla Mirror Abdul Karim Goni, BBCC director Monir Ahmod, managing director of Channel i Europe Reza Ahmod Foysol Chowdhury Shoeb, Editor of Bangla News Shoeb Kabir  movie actress Rozina, Councillor Ayesha Chowdhury, Chief executive of  Betar Bangla Nazim Chowdhury  were among the dignitaries who attended the event.