SME Products Fair kicks off tomorrow
FE REPORT | Tuesday, 3 March 2020
The 'National SME Products Fair 2020' will kick off in the capital tomorrow (Wednesday), aiming to promote local products in the domestic and global markets.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the nine-day fair as the chief guest at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in the capital.
The Small & Medium Enterprise Foundation (SME Foundation) will host the fair for the eighth time at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.
A total of 296 entrepreneurs -- 195 women and 101 men -- will showcase their products such as jute goods, agriculture, food and leather products, electronic and electrical items in 309 stalls.
The participants will also display light engineering products, handicrafts, plastic and synthetics items, and information technology, design and fashion products.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun made the announcement at a press conference at SME Foundation headquarters in the city on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, he laid emphasis on enhancing the marketing facilities for SME entrepreneurs as they are facing difficulties in showcasing and selling their products in local and international markets.
The country can make sustainable and eco-friendly SME products using regional raw materials and the potential of the industry, he added.
The government is putting in efforts to help increase the contribution of the SME sector to the country's economy, said the minister.
Five seminars entitled 'Role of SMEs in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Bangladesh', 'Light Engineering Year 2020: Prospects of National Development', 'Increasing the Marketing of SME Products through the Use of Online Platform', 'SME Women Entrepreneurs' Participation in Export Trade: Prospects and Challenges', and 'Digital Finance for SMEs' will be held on the sidelines of the fair.
The fair will remain open for from 10:00am to 8:00pm daily. There will be no entry fee.
Industries secretary Md Abdul Halim and managing director of the SME Foundation Md Safiqul Islam were present at the press conference.