Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said on Wednesday the expected level investment is not taking place for growth of the private sector in the country.
"More investment is now essential to meet the emerging domestic demand," he said urging the small and micro entrepreneurs to come forward to change the scenario.
The minister was addressing the inaugural function of the SME Financing Fair as the chief guest at a city hotel. The Bangladesh Bank and the SME Foundation organised the two-day fair to enable the SME entrepreneurs to get credit facilities from banks and financing institutions.
The Finance Minister said it is encouraging that 30 per cent of credit flow goes to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). But he called for increasing the flow to the micro enterprises whose growth is enormous in the country.
Emphasising the need for increasing productivity for helping raise the country's economic resources, Mr Muhith said such an initiative has not been visible in this respect.
The SMEs are at the centre of the country's production, he said adding that micro enterprises hold a wide share of production. He said 70 per cent of the economic activities in the country is centered in SMEs but strength of micro units is also at an envying level.
The Finance Minister also called for resisting ill motive of a group which always tries to block investment in the country and work for improving the investment scenario.
On this occasion, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman, Industry Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, General Manager of SME and Special Programme Department of BB Mohammad Masum Patwary, SME Foundation Managing Director Dr Syed Ehsanul Karim and FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed addressed the function as special guests. The inaugural function was chaired by SME Foundation Chairman KM Habibullah.
The BB Governor in his speech highlighted various support programmes for growth of the SME sectors in the country and called upon banking and financial sectors to provide support to the sectors even taking risks.
He also called upon the entrepreneurs to come forward with innovative ideas ignoring all the bindings they face. "Questions like what the government or the regulation is doing or not is not important. It is more important what you are dreaming and what guts you have for materialising the dream," he said.
The Industry Secretary, however, assured providing necessary support of the ministry to the development of the SME sector and increasing the seed money for the SME Foundation.
He also called upon banks and financial institution to keep the interest rate of the SME loans within single digit and recommended for not crossing it above nine per cent.
The SME Foundation MD also called for increasing the Foundation's seed money from Tk 2.0 billion to Tk 5.0 billion to run it properly for development of SME entrepreneurs and their products.
He said revolution in the agriculture sector has been possible due to the role of the SMEs and its strength is also possible for the industrial revolution in the country.
On the inaugural day, Tk 150 million SME credit for 40 entrepreneurs was announced. Some 58 banks and financial institutions are participating in the SME Financing Fair along with their best SME entrepreneurs and their products.
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