Home ›› 13 Sep 2021 ›› Corporate
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan has sought cooperation of the International Finance Corporation for financing small and medium-sized enterprises with a view to enabling them to adopt sustainability practices.
The president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association called for the cooperation at a meeting with the IFC officials at the latter’s headquarters in Washington DC on September 9, a press release said.
BGMEA Vice-President Miran Ali accompanied the president.
In the meeting, Faruque Hassan apprised the IFC of the progress made by Bangladesh’s apparel industry in the areas of workplace safety, social and environmental sustainability and workers’ wellbeing.
He also stressed the importance of financing SMEs who are mostly in need of low-cost fund as they often cannot avail regular financing schemes due to stringent due diligence.
The BGMEA president highlighted the future priorities of Bangladesh garment industry, especially more focus on diversification in products, market and innovation in product development and process optimisation.
He called for greater cooperation and collaboration to support the RMG industry in the areas of sustainability, product diversification, skills development, technological upgradation, and innovations.
Faruque thanked the IFC for its continued cooperation and support in past few decades, especially in the area of sustainability, particularly the “Partnership for Cleaner Textile: PaCT” programme which has supported participating factories in reducing the carbon footprint and water footprint.
The IFC expressed interest to continue collaboration for the betterment of RMG industry of Bangladesh.
Alfonso Garcia Mora, Regional Vice President for Asia and Pacific, Sabine Schlorke, Global Head, Manufacturing and Portfolio, and Tania Lozansky, Senior Manager of Advisory for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services sectors at IFC attended the
meeting.
