Title: Entrepreneurial initiatives during pandemic in Bangladesh

Authors: S.S.M. Sadrul Huda; Afsana Akhtar; Md. Humayun Kabir; Mahmud Zubayer; Syeda Raissa Maliha

Addresses: Department of Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' BRAC Business School, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Department of Business Administration, East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Re-Think, Re-Search, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Re-Think, Re-Search, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract: This research aims to examine the growth and nature of small business entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify the learnings for such small businesses from the pandemic. This research has been conducted primarily on secondary research, including the articles in journals from other authors and newspapers containing any information regarding entrepreneurship initiatives during the COVID-19 period and social media sources. However, selected interviews have been conducted to understand the problem better. The research shows five significant reasons behind people opting for entrepreneurial activities in the pandemic and six major types of small business segments - food, protective gear, home delivery and online services, social entrepreneurship, online boot camps for learners, and rise in over-the-top (OTT) platforms. So far, there has yet to be such paper on Bangladesh that categorises the entrepreneurial activities of small businesses during the pandemic and discusses it at length. The learnings from this paper will help future entrepreneurs face similar challenges.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; pandemic; COVID-19; entrepreneurial activity; small business; entrepreneurship opportunity; Bangladesh.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEM.2025.144571

International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 2025 Vol.16 No.1, pp.21 - 44

Received: 08 Jan 2023
Accepted: 01 May 2023
Published online: 21 Feb 2025 *

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