BRAC Bank, Sheba Platform sign agreement on SMEs

BRAC Bank and Sheba Platform have recently signed an agreement and marked the official kickoff of “SME Bondhu”-an SME banking initiative aims to facilitate micro, small and medium enterprises’ inclusion into the ever-growing digital commerce.

BRAC Bank Deputy Managing Director and Head of SME Banking Syed Abdul Momen and Sheba Platform Chief Operating Officer Ilmul Hoque Sajib signed the agreement at the bank’s head office in Dhaka on September 28, BRAC Bank said in a statement on Sunday.

The objectives of the project are -- to leverage BRAC Bank’s network and facilitate women-led SMEs revive their businesses, introduce and promote digital ways of business, train and develop SMEs’ capability to run business in new ways of normal, help SMEs and women entrepreneurs attract new customers, promote digital transaction, payments, logistics and delivery, and promote sustainable business approach and ensure long-term profitability.

According to the release, Sheba Platform is lending their manager solution, where SMEs can conduct businesses online and avail inclusive services like online store, digital bookkeeping, payment and delivery.

BRAC Bank SME customers will get a 5 per cent discount in subscriptions, while women banking TARA customers will be able to use it for free.

The project is part of the Women Enterprise Recovery Fund (WERF) of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

WERF is supported by the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), the government of Canada, and Visa Inc. The Fund is hosted by UNCDF’s Fund Facility Investment mechanism, through the UNCDF Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) programme, with support from the Australian government (DFAT), said the statement.