State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, MP, has said the present government always remains beside the entrepreneurs for further bolstering the industrial sector.
He said entrepreneurship development is very important as it can generate employment for many people.
State Minister Alam made the observation while opening a common facility centre (CFC) at Kaluhati Shoe village under Charghat upazila in the district on Friday as the chief guest.
The Kaluhati shoe village under Charghat upazila is famous for its footwear products among businessmen from different parts of the country. It has around 65 shoe factories employing around 7,500 male and female workers.
They supply shoes to most of the districts in the northern region. The factory owners are getting massive responses from all quarters which is a positive sign of furthermore expansion of the business.
Once, 15 people from the village used to sell shows on bicycles in Rajshahi city and adjacent areas. Over the years, the mode of the business has changed and shoes are now being manufactured in local factories enhancing the distribution chain.
At present, most of the families are solvent and self-reliant. Many families now live in brick-built houses with electricity.
Many small shoe factories flourished in the village with financial and technical assistance from the SME Foundation.
With Chairperson of SME Foundation Dr Masudur Rahman in the chair, the ceremony was addressed, among others, by Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Industries SM Alam, Managing Director of SME Foundation Mofizur Rahman and its General Manager Farzana Khan.
Reminding the youths State Minister Shahriar Alam said there is no more need for hunting job as entrepreneurship promotion has enormous potentialities to make them self-reliant. But, the youths have to be innovative and dedicated to quality work.
He termed the country's agriculture as the biggest ingredient of the future business and called for promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture side by side with building successful entrepreneurs.
At present, Alam said the CFC has been opened in the shoe village with assistance of SME Foundation and the CFC is the first in the country.
With the breakthrough of the venture in the village potentiality of the shoe industry will be expanded to a greater extent.
The state minister urged all the owners and workers to be more competent in taking forward the industry.
