Eight entrepreneurs win MIDAS award

MIDAS recently honoured eight entrepreneurs who found success in different fields of business after taking financial and technical support from the company, said a statement.

The awardees-six of whom were women-received MIDAS Entrepreneur-ship Award 2018, at an event that MIDAS organised to celebrate its 35th anniversary at its head office in Dhaka.

Bangladesh is marching towards higher economic growth and MIDAS is playing an important role in developing micro and small entrepreneurship, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said while handing over the awards at the programme. He asked MIDAS to encourage entrepreneurs so that they get involved in export oriented businesses as the government is now providing exporters with various incentives.

The award recipients are Nayan Salina from Cox's Bazar, Afsana Asif Shoma, Noor A Alam Chowdhury, Wahida Khanam and Sultana Zaman Lina from Rajshahi, Soniya Rahman from Jessore, and MA Mannan and Selina Akter from Dhaka.

Micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) is an emerging sector in the country and MIDAS is one of the key players in this sector, Parveen Mahmud, chairman of MIDAS, said at the event.

The financial support of MIDAS is helping small and medium entrepreneurs turn into big ones, said Rokia Afzal Rahman, a director of MIDAS.

MIDAS is providing collateral free loans to the small entrepreneurs to help them grow further, Rokia said. "The board of directors of MIDAS is also very supportive in giving such loans for the development of women entrepreneurs."

MIDAS came into being as a non-profit voluntary organisation for the development of MSMEs with the financial assistance of USAID.

The company has developed around 32,000 women entrepreneurs since its inception.