In line with the government plan for empowering women, the female entrepreneurs will now get loans at only 5 percent interest as Bangladesh Bank has reduced the interest rate.
The central bank has launched this low-cost loan facility under its 'Small Enterprise Refinancing Scheme' and now banks and financial institutions will be able to make money from this scheme at 0.5 percent interest-only to give loans to women entrepreneurs at 5 percent interest across the country.
"We've introduced such low-cost loans to support women entrepreneurs who are facing very critical time due to Covid-19. Such loans will help the Covid-19 affected women entrepreneurs revive their business," said a BB official.
The central bank has set a target of giving at least 15 percent of SME loans to women entrepreneurs by 2024 and for this reason, the interest rate of this scheme has been reduced from time to time.
According to a central bank notification, women entrepreneurs are given refinancing facilities on a priority basis under a small enterprise refinancing scheme. Subsequently, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, interest rates were rescheduled at 3 percent at the bank or financial institution level and a maximum of 6 percent at the consumer level to facilitate the disbursement of loans to women entrepreneurs.
Under the new guidelines, the interest rate for refinancing under this scheme has been fixed at 0.5 per cent at the bank and financial institution level and a maximum of 5 percent at the customer level, said BB in its notification.
Sources said women entrepreneurs are not getting low-interest loans due to a lack of necessary papers and documents while entrepreneurs complained that bankers are not interested in lending to women entrepreneurs. Due to this reason, bank loans are not reaching the desired level among women entrepreneurs across the country.
In the last decade, women have made tremendous strides in Bangladesh, stepping out of the home to participate in the economy. In the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, which accounts for an estimated 25 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP, women have made substantial contributions. SMEs create employment for an estimated 7.8 million people directly and provide livelihoods for 31.2 million people.
