The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) need more financial and policy support for the development of Bangladesh’s economy, as well as for promoting entrepreneurs, State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder has said.
“Current facilities for the Small and Medium Enterprises are not sufficient, and the trade licence system should be removed as early as possible for creating a friendly environment for the entrepreneurs,” he told a press conference at the SME Foundation in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The press conference was held ahead of the 10th National Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Fair-2022, which will begin on Thursday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the capital.
In his speech, the state minister of industries underscored the need to display SME products at places in the international airports in Bangladesh and its foreign embassies to encourage entrepreneurs and expand the markets.
The fair will continue till December 3 to promote SME entrepreneurs and expand their markets through product diversification. Since 2012, the SME Foundation has been organising the fair. It will be open to visitors from 10am to 8pm every day.
This year, 325 SME enterprises will exhibit their products at 350 stalls. Of the organisations, some 130 are from the fashion design sector, 45 from food and agro-processing, 38 from handicrafts, 36 from leather, and 35 from the jute sector.
Alongside the fair, seminars will be organised on five topics — easy financing, women entrepreneurship, technology, ICT, and cluster development for SME entrepreneurs.
To recognise the contribution of SME entrepreneurs, the SME Foundation has taken the initiative to give the “National SME Entrepreneur Award 2022” in both male and female categories.
This year, six entrepreneurs will be awarded in each of the five categories.
From 2012, about 1,886 entrepreneurs have sold products worth about Tk 32.88 crore while receiving orders worth around Tk 53.50 crore at the event, according to the SME Foundation.
Of the roughly 10 lakh small- and medium-scale businesses and 68 lakh cottage industries in Bangladesh, 7.21 per cent are being run by women.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Economic Census 2013, there were 78.8 lakh business establishments in the country that year.
However, SME Foundation Chairperson Md Masudur Rahman told the press conference on Tuesday that there are more than one crore business establishments — from cottage to large industries — in the country at present.
Among those, 87.52 per cent are cottage industries while 1.33 per cent micro, 10.99 per cent are small, 0.09 per cent medium and 0.07 per cent large industries.
