Overview 

This project builds on the skills and experiences gained by eSheBee Research Associates in 2021 while researching the impact of COVID-19 on women entrepreneurs’ livelihoods.

In the national context of transitioning from a ‘Digital Bangladesh’ vision to a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ vision, state- and enterprise-led projects to digitize citizen services and use data and digital platforms to cultivate ‘smart’ citizens enable enhanced access to some but also generate new kinds of inequalities. The purpose of this project is to explore these new inequalities and exclusions by investigating three case studies: 

Digitization of land record of rights and transfer processes (Rangpur: Nargis & Setera) 

Digitization of Social Safety Net programs (Moulvibazar: Adnan & Kamrul)

Digitization of platforms to support women entrepreneurs (Khulna: Ummur Redha & Jannatul Ferdausi)