The f-commerce paradox: Empowering women, yet binding them to the algorithm

Like many Bangladeshi women of her generation, Jasmin Jahan left her education behind the moment she married. She had been a promising student, and the abrupt end to her studies left a mark she carried well into adulthood. 

Years later, when her children moved away to university, Jasmin realised she had no intention of becoming another woman expected to quietly disappear into the background of everyone else's lives.

"I first bought myself some online courses on different skillsets that offered freelancing opportunities. I learned affiliate marketing, Facebook ad boosting and graphic designing — only to realise the freelancing market was overcrowded," the 43-year-old f-commerce entrepreneur said. 

When freelancing failed to open the door she hoped for, she looked for another path. This time, she turned to f-commerce. 

She started a small jewellery page called Luxoura. Instead of following the formula that had become almost synonymous with Facebook-based businesses — Facebook Lives with influencers, endorsements in booming groups — Jasmin relied on the skills she had painstakingly picked up online. 

But entering the digital marketplace as a woman, she soon discovered, came with its own set of barriers.

"I asked my parents for a loan, and they asked me what it was for. When they found out it was for my business, they firmly declined. But if I told them my husband wanted to start a business, they would have handed the money over to me confidently," she told TBS.

Today, Luxoura rakes in more than Tk1.5 lakh a month, surpassing Tk2 lakh during festive seasons — an outcome that would have been almost unimaginable for her a decade or two ago.

How digital tools opened the door

For generations, women like Jasmin were confined to workplaces designed by and for men. Opportunities rarely expanded beyond rigid roles, and few women could imagine running a business on their own terms. 

F-commerce and digital business have shifted enormously. During the pandemic, many women who lost their jobs turned to Facebook-based businesses as a source of income. But the market has become oversaturated, and many of those who started during that period are now struggling to survive because digital trends have changed.

Noushin Tarannum Muna, e-commerce trainer and entrepreneur

But the digital space has shifted that landscape. Online platforms have offered something traditional workplaces never did: the chance to build a business without stepping outside the home, without navigating male-dominated office cultures, and without asking for anyone's permission.

Across Bangladesh, thousands of women are seizing that opportunity. Many are turning their creativity into online boutiques, while others are growing Facebook pages into fully fledged brands with physical stores. 

A 2022 Meta report found that women own 70% of Facebook-based businesses launched in Bangladesh since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and more than 40% of the country's entrepreneurship-focused Facebook groups were created by women.

Digital tools are enabling this shift. From setting up a page to managing B2B communication, handling customers and coordinating deliveries, almost everything can be done remotely. Mobile financial services have given women an accessible and often safer way to manage money — particularly important in a country where women face higher risks while carrying cash, especially in conservative or rural areas.

The platform giveth, and the platform taketh away

But for every breakthrough the digital space delivers, it presents new challenges. Facebook's algorithm changes have hit small business owners hard. Declining organic reach — driven by content saturation and shifting platform incentives — has left many women scrambling to understand why their posts suddenly reach half, or even a third, of their previous audiences.

"F-commerce and digital business have shifted enormously. During the pandemic, many women who lost their jobs turned to Facebook-based businesses as a source of income. But the market has become oversaturated, and many of those who started during that period are now struggling to survive because digital trends have changed," says Noushin Tarannum Muna, a Mymensingh-based e-commerce trainer and entrepreneur.

"Most women entrepreneurs are not familiar with digital marketing. They can do little beyond boosting posts at best. They need to expand their horizons and move beyond Facebook Lives and posting in popular groups in hopes of organic reach," she adds.

The structural obstacles run even deeper. Most women running f-commerce businesses do not have trade licences, leaving them locked out of government and bank-supported schemes designed explicitly for female entrepreneurs. According to a World Bank study, only 36% of Bangladeshi women have access to formal financial services, compared with 65% of men.

Social norms, financial exclusion and limited business training have created a widening gap between women entrepreneurs and the technology driving the digital marketplace. Without formal training, many rely on methods that worked for others and hesitate to experiment with new tools.

But that gap is not unbridgeable. AI is emerging as a potential equaliser. For small businesses, AI-powered chatbots can respond to customer queries around the clock, offering a level of efficiency previously out of reach. They can help entrepreneurs track trends, plan strategy and compete more effectively with larger companies whose resources once felt unmatchable.

Putting all of one's eggs in one basket

Yet another vulnerability remains: dependency. Many women-run businesses exist entirely on Facebook. A single restriction — often unannounced, unexplained and difficult to appeal — can bring operations to a standstill.

Fahim Mashroor, CEO of Bdjobs, believes the reliance on Facebook alone is one of the biggest threats to women's digital entrepreneurship.

"One of the major issues — whether the entrepreneur is male or female — is that they do not act smartly when it comes to engaging their existing customer base," says Mashroor. "They may have been running their business for four or five years and already have many customers, but they are not smart enough in regularly engaging them or informing them about new products. They are always focused on getting new clients."

Platforms like WhatsApp, Discord and other free tools, he suggests, could help entrepreneurs maintain stable communication channels. "If they remain dependent solely on Facebook, they will end up losing a lot of money," he warns. "Facebook will always prioritise its own profit. For business owners, reaching their existing client base is actually more important."

And therein lies the paradox: The digital revolution has empowered thousands of Bangladeshi women while simultaneously binding them to a single foreign corporation — Meta.

Many f-commerce entrepreneurs avoid creating websites or experimenting with alternative tools, assuming customers would never bother to move. But as digital commerce evolves, customers evolve with it. Those who do not expand beyond Facebook risk being left behind.

A report by the International Finance Corporation notes that digital financial inclusion can raise GDP in emerging markets by up to 2%, largely by bringing more women into economic activity. 

In Bangladesh, the proof of that potential is already here. Women have carved out a visible, vibrant space in the digital marketplace — despite the barriers. And if they can keep pace with rapid technological change, they have the power to reshape not only their own futures but the country's economy itself.