Enterprise Development Sector

The contribution of NGOs in the development of Bangladesh is quite remarkable. In fact, NGOs have appeared as the savior of countless number of people without food, cloth, education and basic health facilities. With the record of being the most densely populated country on earth and feeble manpower competency, Bangladesh is facing massive challenge to meet up the demand of her ever-increasing population. The limitations of the state fund in social welfare as well as the complex nature of newly evolving socio-economic as well as psychological problems made it almost impossible for any long-term solution by the government alone. Hence the emergence of NGOs was considered with much importance in the history of Bangladesh.

However, with the country’s upwards advancement in the scale of economic status, these NGOs are now facing challenges for their organizational survival. Many NGOs find it difficult to garner sufficient and continuous funding for the work. Gaining access to appropriate donors is a major component of this challenge. Moreover, many NGOs may have limited resource mobilization skills locally and solely dependent on external funding. Current donors are shifting priorities and withdraw funding. Many international donor organizations now prefer to fund programs for a short period of time, as a temporary measure to tide over a crisis or to initiate a change. As a result, NGOs are now suffering from a general lack of project, organizational and financial sustainability.

In the face of such impending challenge, CSS being one of the oldest NGOs in Bangladesh has initiated Enterprise Development Sector which is basically a process of developing small and medium income generating interventions with a goal to achieve organizational financial self-sufficiency as well as secure additional funding support for program sustainability even after the phase-out of donor funding. Enterprise Development Sector always upholds organizational philanthropic viewpoint carefully combining with commercial aspects. Most of its interventions are done to benefit the broader society in order to stimulate economic activity with a specific focus of empowerment of disadvantaged people.