‘Financial support to SMEs to be expanded’

Business Desk :
Bangladesh Bank has taken an initiative to sanction a stimulus package of Tk 60,000 crore to expand the SMEs sector for ensuring economic resilience to enhance GDP, employment and inclusive development of the country, Abu Farah Md Naser, Deputy Governor the central bank said.
He was addressing a virtual dialogue titled Creating Resilient Recovery for Businesses through Enhancing Investment Opportunities: A Case of Southwest Bangladesh on Friday.
Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) with support from the PROKAS program of the British Council organized the dialogue.
At the same time the central bank also has undertaken a decision to extend the timeline of the current stimulus package and by 2023, he said in his chief guest speech.
Naser said that Tk 2,000 crore collateral-free loan opportunities for the SMEs have been made available under the credit guarantee scheme that should be utilized as much as possible.
He mentioned that Bangladesh Bank is also facilitating expansion of aggregate demand by nurturing Bank-MFI linkages that has a base of three crore people across the country.
Taking part in the dialogue as special guest Sk Abdur Rahman, mayor of Mongla Municipality, said that the a section of people in the cottage enterprises, fishermen and working class have been denied the benefits of the package.
In his opening remarks of the dialogue, BUILD Chairperson Abul Kasem Khan said that the Covid-19 has affected businesses all around the country, especially the MSMEs.
He requested the concerned authorities for ensuring social safety bond for the small entrepreneurs and bringing some changes in the Tax policy by giving tax incentives so that the large scale industries can sustain.
In his keynote presentation Tahmid Zami, additional research director of the BUILD noted that around 50 percent businesses are out of operation and only 20 percent workers are working at many factories in the BSCIC Industrial Estate of Mongla.
The coconut oil mills, rice mills, small traders, and many other sectors have been facing a serious setback due to the outbreak of the Covid-19, he said.
Finance assistance should be given to the cottage, micro and small enterprises without stringent requirements for rescuing the endangered businesses, he added.