SMEs accelerate industrial growth with 25pc contribution to GDP

FE Team | Published: October 28, 2017 22:02:02

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been accelerating the country's industrialisation as well as economic growth with contributing 25 per cent to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
"The government has been putting emphasis on the SMEs and taking different measures for its development considering the sector as driving force to transform the country's huge population into human resources as it contributes 25 per cent to the GDP," KM Habibullah, chairman of board of directors of SME Foundation, has said, reports BSS
As part of the government initiatives to flourish the sector, SME foundation has so far held five national and 20 regional SME goods fairs since 2007 through which goods of Tk 11.07 billion (Tk 1,107 crore) have been sold and orders of over Tk 12.97 billion (Tk 1297 crore) have been received, he informed.
More than 7.5 million (75 lakh) SMEs have already been set up across the country which is around 98 per cent of the financial institutions.
"The SME Foundation has been working relentlessly in line with the seventh five-year plan (2016-2020), Vision 2021, National Industrial Policy, 2016 and five targets (1,4,5,8 and 9) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for ensuring overall development of over 10 million (one crore) people involved in the business," he said.
For smooth financing to SME, 11 banks and financial institutions have been distributing single digit loans among the SMEs entrepreneurs since 2009, he said, adding that the SME foundation is now distributing 600 million (Tk 60 crore) from this fiscal which was Tk 400 million (Tk 40 crore) in the previous years, he informed.
Loans have been distributed among 1,200 entrepreneurs including 440 women under the project naming "Credit whole selling" till August 2017, he also said.
SME goods fairs have already been held at Dhaka, Sylhet, Rangpur, Gopalganj,Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Barisal, Comilla, Khulna, Jamalpur, Bandarban, Moulvibazar, Dinajpur, Bogra, Jhalokathi, and Jessore. A total of 850 women entrepreneurs took part in the fairs.