Thrust on jt nat\\\'l, int\\\'l bid to help SME sector grow

A joint effort of local and international agencies is seen vital to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of Bangladesh to grow.
Speakers at an international seminar in the city Wednesday made the observation.
Bangladesh Bank, CIRDAP, BIBM and MIDAS (UK) jointly organised the seminar on 'Sustainable SME Development in Bangladesh', first of its kind in the country.
The speakers mentioned that such efforts would help employment generation, poverty reduction, women empowerment and economic development of Bangladesh.
The main objective of the seminar is to make recommendations for a sustainable SME sector in Bangladesh through formulating a long-term and effective rules and regulations keeping in view the global perspective.
Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Atiur Rahman was present at the seminar as the chief guest, while the deputy governor of BB was the special guest.
Chairman of CEIP, UK Michael Alfred Sippill and CEO of ICE Starlup, India Shankar Rele were present at the seminar as international speakers, among others.
Director of MIDAS (UK) George Mammen Abraham presided over the seminar.
"SME sector is commonly considered an important factor in attaining inclusive growth of any developing country. Bangladesh is also not out of this reality. So, only a combined effort of local and international organisations can ensure sustainable growth of the sector," Mr Rahman said.
According to the BB governor, 90 per cent of total industrial units in Bangladesh belong to the SME sector. Together with cottage and micro industries, this sector is estimated to be about 98-99 per cent of total industrial enterprises.
He told the seminar that the SME sector in Bangladesh contributes about 25 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP), 40 per cent to employment and 80 per cent to industrial jobs and substantially to exports.
"So considering the contributions and the prospects of the sector all the financial institutions of the country should come forward to help the sector so that it can flourish along with technical and financial support of the foreign partners," the BB governor added.
George Mammen said product development, marketing of SME products, climate change, cluster approach and development, lending risk and global market networking - all these are very important in the Bangladeshi context.
"Besides, SMEs need to show high adaptability and embrace these changes rapidly so as to retain their competitiveness. There are some more challenges for SMEs, Bangladesh has to point out those challenges and take measures to face them," he added.
Shankar Rele said many countries in the world are promoting self-employment and SMEs as a potential lifeline to generate jobs and promote inclusive economic development.
"Being a developing country and emerging economy, Bangladesh should concentrate more on research and development of SMEs for a sustainable development,' Rele added.
However, the discussants and the participants at the seminar also raised their voices over volume, distribution procedures and the interest rate of SME loans.
 "A major portion of SME loans goes to trading-based business which cannot ensure proper growth of such sectors. Besides, higher interest rate and its sanction process are not at all investment-friendly," Abdul Awal, an SME entrepreneur, said.
He also urged all the stakeholders not only to sanction loans but also provide technical and other knowledge to the entrepreneurs for rapid and sustainable growth of the country.
The seminar also decided to publish a seminar paper based on a number of recommendations made by the discussants and the participants and intimate the same to the policymakers and regulators for implementation.