DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed speaks at a discussion on 'Reform of SME Policy-2019 for Sustainable Growth and Innovation' organised by the DCCI at its auditorium on Saturday. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would not be sustainable without increased liquidity support for the sector, speakers at a discussion said on Saturday.
They also stressed the need for improved coordination among agencies, structural reforms and good management to ensure the development of the SME sector.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) organised the focus group discussion on 'Reform of SME Policy-2019 for Sustainable Growth and Innovation' at its DCCI auditorium.
Presenting the keynote paper, DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed said that an agro-based economy alone cannot sustain the overall economy. Rather, the country needs to focus on industrialisation and enhance the export capabilities of the service sector.
He also noted that the CMSME sector is large and has the potential to create adequate employment opportunities in the country.
"About 500,000 graduates enter the job market every year. If we promote the growth of the CMSME sector, it will be able to generate sufficient employment opportunities for these educated, unemployed graduates," he said.
He emphasised the importance of easy access to finance, innovative financing models such as electronic nano-financing, electronic channelling, and the automation of licensing and its renewal.
He also highlighted the need for high skill availability, intellectual property protection, high-speed broadband internet, addressing non-tariff measures, and improved access to technology for the development of the SME sector.
The DCCI chief proposed establishing a 'National Industrial Standard' to ensure quality of products, with the international market in focus.
He also suggested creating a comprehensive database of SMEs, including those in the informal sector, to facilitate their integration into the formal economy, thereby contributing to overall economic growth.
The goals and objectives of the SME policy should be determined in conjunction with the industrial policy and the five-year plan to set the future goals of the entire industrial sector, he added.
Md. Salim Ullah, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Industries, said the government is trying to formulate an international standard SME Policy and for that he sought cooperation from all stakeholders.
"All the shortcomings of the previous policy will be addressed and the new one will try to reflect the requirements of all stakeholders for the betterment of SME sector as a whole," he said.
Md. Anwar Hossain, Vice Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, said the main task of EPB is to promote export-oriented industries, including SMEs.
He reiterated the importance of automation in all client service activities of the government. The EPB is also trying to make its all services automated soon, he added.
He also said, "We need to strengthen the backward linkage industry, particularly within the SME sector".
He urged the NBR to consider simplifying the tax filing process for CMSMEs, as excessive documentation can be a burden for these businesses.
"Beside ISO certification, we need to set our own standards for our exportable products so that we can improve our products competitiveness in the global market," he added.
Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, President, National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh (NASCIB), said there is a lack of coordination among the agencies.
He suggested incorporating an arbitration system into the new SME Policy and emphasized that the informal SME sector should be included under this policy as well.
Md. Mahbubur Rahman Palash, Executive Vice President and Division Head, MSME and Emerging Business, Dhaka Bank PLC, said the government is going to reform the existing SME Policy 2019 after five years.
He suggested that the new policy should not overlook the trading sector, which is also a big sector. While there is a guideline to disburse 25 per cent of total loans for the SME sector, this target has not been achieved, there; it has remained around 17 to 17.5 per cent, he said.
He suggested easier documentation processes for the SMEs so that they can get easy access to capital funds.
Md. Mosharref Hossain, Associate Professor, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management; Md. Kyser Hamid, CEO and Managing Director, Bangladesh Finance Limited; Nawshad Mustafa, Director, SME & Special Programmes Department, Bangladesh Bank; Mohammad Yakub Hossain, Executive Director (Regulation, Rese-arch), Microcredit Regulatory Authority; Kazi Mahabubur Roshid, Director (Skills & Technology), Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC); and Khondoker Mostak Hosaien, AVP, Lanka Bangla Finance PLC; also spoke at the event.
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