Sadia Haque, Co-Founder and CEO of ShareTrip, has been appointed by the Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as an eTrade for Women Advocate for South Asia for the 2026–2027 term, per a press release sent to Future Startup. She is the first Bangladeshi appointed to the role.
The eTrade for Women initiative appoints a small number of women business leaders worldwide to carry the concerns of women digital entrepreneurs into policy discussions with governments and regulators. Previous advocates have been drawn from Kenya, Egypt, Colombia, Malaysia, Senegal, Nigeria, the Philippines, and India.
In the role, Sadia Haque will represent the region's women-led digital businesses in dialogue on digital trade and the digital economy, and will contribute to the initiative's Masterclasses and community programmes across South Asia. Her designation will be formally announced at UNCTAD in Geneva in September.
"I'm honoured to take on this role at a time when South Asia's digital economy is creating new opportunities for women entrepreneurs. I know from experience that building a technology business takes more than a good idea, it takes access to networks, capital, knowledge and an ecosystem that gives women the opportunity to lead. I hope to use this platform to bring the experiences of women entrepreneurs in our region into the policy conversation and help make the path easier for those coming next," Sadia Haque said.
Sadia Haque co-founded ShareTrip in 2014 with Kashef Rahman and has led the company since. Under her leadership, the platform introduced automatic refunds, date changes, and cancellations, none of which existed in the Bangladeshi market at the time, and built the country's largest domestic hotel and resort inventory, bringing hundreds of local properties online for the first time. ShareTrip became the first superbrand in the travel sector and has also won at the World Travel Awards for six consecutive years, with recognition dating back to 2018.
