Tasnuba Sinha is a Senior Initiative Communications Manager of the WEE-DiFine project at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University.
Prior to joining BIGD, Tasnuba was a Digital Tools Manager at DAI, where she managed digital tools to build the capacity of value chain actors and empower vulnerable groups. She has also worked with FHI 360, where she promoted financial awareness and women’s financial inclusion in the garment industry. At Startup Dhaka, she drove business growth and supported entrepreneurs through strategic planning and accelerator programs.
Tasnuba holds an Executive MBA from North South University and a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics from BRAC University.
BIGD has once again made significant strides in advancing women’s economic empowerment through two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in 2024. This year marked the first call for WEE-Connect, which along with WEE-DiFine, aims to build a robust research pipeline in the Global South. These initiatives have resulted in the selection of high-impact studies that will deepen our understanding of how digital connectivity and financial services empower women economically.
Digital connectivity is vital for women’s empowerment in Bangladesh, offering access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. However, barriers like socio-cultural norms, digital illiteracy, and economic constraints persist. Initiatives like BIGD’s WEE-DiFine and WEE-Connect are addressing these challenges through research-driven solutions. The recent political upheaval, marked by the government's collapse in August 2024, poses risks to digital inclusion but also presents opportunities for reform. To ensure progress, Bangladesh must expand digital literacy, reduce economic barriers, prioritize online safety, and collect gender-disaggregated data, fostering collaboration to secure women’s place in the country’s digital future.
A recipient of the Developing Solutions Scholarship from the University of Nottingham, Maliha Rahanaz's research focuses on development economics, women’s economic empowerment, migration, and education. She is currently involved in a project that investigates the role of digital financial services in enhancing the economic empowerment of female domestic workers in Bangladesh. BIGD's WEE-DiFine team sat down with Maliha and learned about her passion for research, her ongoing projects in Bangladesh, and much more.
WEE-DiFine is a research initiative (2019–2024), which aims to generate a comprehensive body of evidence around the impact of digital finance (DiFine) on women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and the causal mechanisms between the two through funding rigorous research studies across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
WEE-Connect is a pioneering initiative addressing the persistent gender gap in digital connectivity in the Global South, aiming to bridge barriers for women, foster economic empowerment, and establish evidence-based strategies through inclusive research, best case practices, and the creation of a scholarly community focused on the intersection of digital connectivity and gender.
