Empowering female entrepreneurs in Dhaka: Marketing & sales training at Karusoily

In July 2025, 23 women entrepreneurs gathered at Karusoily in Dhaka, Bangladesh for an intensive Marketing & Sales training. Karusoily is a social enterprise with a powerful mission: to collaborate with women in fashion design and production to gain the skills and confidence to run their own businesses, inspired by Anowara Akter Sheuly, the founder’s own journey through hardship in the garment industry.

The participants were far from beginners. Many already had brands, loyal customers, and used Facebook as a sales channel. This allowed the training to go beyond the basics. Together with PUM expert Anoesjka Timmermans, they explored how to create buyer personas and customer journeys, how to design value propositions, and how to tell a compelling story to market their brand.

The sessions were highly interactive, with Anoesjka working closely alongside the women to connect the theory to their own businesses. Exercises and group discussions helped participants translate concepts into practical strategies they could immediately apply.

One of the most inspiring aspects was the role of Imran Hossain Shawon, the founder’s son, who acted as interpreter. He not only translated but absorbed every concept, asked questions, and then explained the ideas in Bangla with clarity and enthusiasm. In doing so, he became a trainer himself, ready to pass on this knowledge to many more women in Karusoily’s network.

Community Impact

The training reinforced what makes Karusoily unique: it doesn’t just teach technical and business skills, it also opens doors to real markets, giving women a boost to turn their craft into income and independence. Having faced the obstacles of starting and running a garment business herself, Anowara was driven to set up Karusoily to help women find a way out of severe poverty and domestic violence. Each participant walked away with sharper tools to grow her business and a stronger belief in her own story.