The unexpected exodus of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar has caused damage to the social, economic and political fabric of Bangladeshi host communities in Cox’s Bazar.
While the initial reaction to the influx has been one of empathy, increased competition for jobs and public services, as well as environmental degradation have stretched the patience of host communities to the breaking point, lit- one in a press release.
In an effort to meet the entrepreneurial aspirations of young entrepreneurs in Cox’s Bazar, USAID’s Youth Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Support (YES) activity, comprised of Relief International, mPower Social, CCDB, and YPSA , organized the “Youth Start-up Competition 2022” on Monday.
From the hundreds of Cox’s Bazar entries, ten best business ideas were presented in the competition from which, the top three entrepreneurs were selected as winners.
The judges for the competition were – Chief of Party, USAID’s YES Activity, Relief International Shahana Sharmin, Director of Innovation, mPower Social Zaki Haider and Chief of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation , CCDB Imran Kibria.
The Deputy Director of Youth Development Department, Md Abdus Salam Sikder was the main guest at the event, which was moderated by Imtiaz Alam Tanim of mPower Social. Adnan Mehedee Khan, KM Ragibul Haque and Ikbal Hossain were responsible for the overall coordination of the event.
Youth is about possibilities; youth is building the future. Young people in Cox’s Bazar engage in various educational and developmental activities with the support and sponsorship of government and private institutions, which creates awareness among them around their career and entrepreneurial aspirations.
In recognition of the efforts of the youth of Cox’s Bazar, USAID’s YES Activity organized this event. The three winners of the start-up competition received badges, certificates and cash prizes.
USAID’s YES Activity works in four sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar to foster social cohesion and build peace among host community youth in Cox’s Bazar by providing technical and vocational skills in a gender-sensitive approach. gender and conflict sensitive by adhering to Do No Harm principles; and build the capacity of civil society organizations, government agencies and private sector actors to become more socially and economically resilient by addressing the socio-economic causes of conflict between host communities and forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMN).
The winners of the event are – Nazma Akter (Palongki Konna), Md Sakir Alam (Plastic Bank) and Jannatul Ferdous Sathi (Sathi Fashion Tailors & Training Center).
