Lending channelled to women entrepreneurs has been rising since 2010 when the central bank relaxed policy on SME or small and medium enterprises loan.
The policy has made it easier for women to borrow collateral-free credits up to Tk 2.5 million, repayable at 10 per cent interest rate.
Last year, private banks and financial institutions disbursed a total of Tk 39.38 billion, which was Tk 18 billion in 2010, according to the Bangladesh Bank statistics. In 2013, women entrepreneurs secured Tk 33.51 billion in loan.
Ahmed Rashid Joy, executive vice president at the SME Division of Mutual Trust Bank (MTB), said the number of women loan recipients is increasing, thanks to the central bank's policy.
He said his bank, under a special agreement with the SME Foundation, is providing loan to women entrepreneurs at 8.5 per cent rate, which is lower than the mandated 10 per cent by the central bank and is among the lowest in the banking sector.
The women taking out SME loan are engaged, mainly in agriculture, manufacturing, farming, handicrafts and other small businesses.
With the central bank's relaxed loan facilities, a good number of female microcredit borrowers are graduating to the SME loan recipients and as they are trained with the government and international financial institutions' support they are diversifying their businesses.
Selima Ahmad, president of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said despite the government's relaxed loan facilities to the women, only 4.0 per cent SME loans go to women entrepreneurs.
She said though a lot of changes and developments have taken place in terms of women entrepreneurship development, the full exposure of 15 per cent loan limit is yet to be achieved.
She said her chamber has trained up around 15,000 women involved on different business categories, helping them to obtain bank loans, understand documentation and identify products in the available sectors.
Data from the Microcredit Regulatory Authority showed more than 22 million women entrepreneurs in the country received microfinance from the non-government organisations at the end of December last year.
Among the microcredit borrowers, 90 per cent are women entrepreneurs and they are engaged in farming, agriculture, weaving, manufacturing and many other sectors.
An NGO field officer said women's hard work and their entrepreneurial attitude are working as "collateral" as they try to earn money and continue business with the loan they receive.
He said the tendency of repaying the loan along with interest is proven among the women loan recipients and it is considered the "best collateral" for the lending organisations or financial institutions.
   himelshamsul@gmail.com
Policy works well for women entrepreneurs
Shamsul Huda | Published: April 23, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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