SM Humayun Kabir, Cox’s Bazar

Cox’s Bazar’s Sagarkanya Khayat Neelima Akhtar Chowdhury has been selected for the international IWEC – International Economic Empowerment Program for Women Award. The International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation (IWEC Foundation) is an international economic empowerment program for women that was formed in 2007 with support from the U.S. Department of State. The current Chairperson of IWEC, Ms. Ibukun Awosika, Chairwoman, IWEC Foundation, New York, NY 10028, www.iwecfoundation.org , personally congratulated and announced the selection for this prestigious award, citing an email, and also thanked the Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CWCCI) in Chittagong. Neelima Akhter Chowdhury was invited to Barcelona, ​​Spain to receive the prestigious award and prize money. The IWEC Foundation is an international economic empowerment program for women that was formed in 2007 with support from the U.S. Department of State. It is designed to build a global business network for successful women entrepreneurs through the participation of global chambers of commerce, which will help them gain access to and expand into international markets. In addition to the State Department, its founding members include the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), and the FICCI/FLO Chamber in New Delhi. From the early stages, the U.S. State Department has played a key role in expanding IWEC’s international reach by supporting the inclusion of African women in our network. Since 2007, annual conferences have been held in Barcelona, ​​New York, New Delhi, Cape Town, Lima, Stockholm, Istanbul, Brussels, Seattle, Shanghai, Madrid, and Turin, Italy. IWEC works to honor women around the world who have achieved the highest standards of social change, humanitarian work, business, and self-reliance, and have expanded their companies through their global outreach. So far, 538 awardees from around the world (48 countries) have been honored, representing all industry sectors. The conference will also honor more successful women entrepreneurs, including women from Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, the Middle East, Indonesia, North and South America, China, and three African countries. It is noteworthy that Neelima Akhter Chowdhury, the founding president of Agrajatra, a non-governmental social development organization that has received national and multiple international awards, has previously been awarded the National and Commonwealth Medals 6 times and, in addition to social and humanitarian services, is a successful entrepreneur under whose leadership more than 5 lakh rural, extremely poor, and deprived women of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong have become self-reliant and have received various assistance.