'Women entrepreneurs get less than 4% of MSME loans'

The country's female entrepreneurs in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are getting less than 4% of the loan disbursed to the sector.

Dr Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said this at a workshop on Bangladesh's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the capital on Sunday.

SME Foundation and Economic Reporters' Forum jointly organised the program.

Presided over by SME Foundation Chairperson Prof Dr Masudur Rahman, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman, DCCI President Shams Mahmud, Research Director of CPD Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, and ERF President Sharmin Rinvy also spoke at the workshop.

The women entrepreneurs in the MSMEs received 3.62% or Tk58.4 billion from banks as credit while men got 96.38% or Tk1555.6 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19, Nazneen said.

In the FY18, women businessmen received Tk50.4 billion as a loan – 3.30% of the total – while men got Tk1528.7 billion – 96.70%.

However, in the FY17, female entrepreneurs received only 2.75% of the total loan while their male colleagues got 97.25%.

Nazneen said banks still do not prefer female investors, in most cases, in providing loans and always show a negative attitude towards women entrepreneurship.

Mentioning that around one fourth of the country’s GDP come from the SMEs, former central bank Governor Dr Atiur said, “SMEs are undoubtedly a very big part of the economy and in true sense, these SMEs are going to be the growth engine,”

He said to successfully tackle the post-Covid-19 pandemic, there is no alternative for taking pro-active policy instead of the business as usual policy.

Atiur also opined that clarity of policies from the central bank is so important in this time of Covid-19.The former Bangladesh Bank governor also suggested for providing more stimulus to the SMEs, increasing their loan-repayment period to two years from the existing one year as well as delivering time befitting fiscal policy and cash incentives to successfully tackle the 2nd wave of the Covid-19.

He also noted since the rural economy will continue to remain vibrant overcoming the shock of Covid-19, there is a need for giving more attention to the SMEs situated in the urban areas.

SME Foundation Managing Director Md Shafiqul Islam said they have been trying to persuade banks to support female entrepreneurs in their business ventures through loans. "But the mindset of bankers has been the biggest barrier."

"There should be a strategic policy guideline from the government to ensure that female entrepreneurs get the needed financial support from banks. Else, things are unlikely to change soon."