Deprived small traders made strong demand for Separate policy for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in order to boost and sustain the industry.
Speakers at a workshop on Wednesday demanded formulating separate policy and guidelines for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in order to strengthen business.
They said that the country’s micro traders who play vital role in enriching the financial sector, are being neglected in many ways since long. The government and different non-government agencies on several occasions came up with various assurances in the past in order to provide supports to the micro traders.
Despite the assurances the small and medium traders face serious difficulties in getting loan and marketing their products.
“We are being neglected in many ways. As we have to run our business with very little capital no one shows interests in our business. When we seek bank loan, the officials ask us to produce bank statement. I think such attitude towards us is simply a mockery,” said Shahdot Hossain, a small factory owner in Uttara.
Experts said that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) have huge contributions in the country’s economic growth but they get least attention in terms of need for their financial support and subsequent sustainability.
They said that the country’s most of the bank and financial institutes are focusing on offering loans to entrepreneurs which are already established and have strong footing in business. In such a situation there is huge crisis in the MSME sector which are already evident in apparent loss and closure of many small businesses.
The MSME is facing a number of challenges including financial problem, marketing and policy which are seriously taking toll on their business expansion.
The workshop titled “Financing Solution for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Bangladesh: Findings and Perspectives” was held at PRI conference room in the city.
Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and World Bank Group jointly organized the programme. Md Ashadul Islam, senior Secretary of Financial Institution Division at the Ministry of Finance said, “The MSME sector has huge prospects as the micro entrepreneurs are playing a vital role in economic growth particularly in the rural areas.”
Islam who was the chief guest said that the many leading financial institutes of the world expresses investment opportunities to explore business potentials.
He said a number of local and international financial institutes are providing financial support to the MSME. “We now need to concentrate on the need for quality financial support.”
SM Moniruzzaman, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank said MSME sector plays a vital role in achieving higher economic growth, reducing poverty and contributing to significant job creation.The MSMEs are facing major challenges in accessing finance with similar terms and condition, mainly because there is an asymmetric information problem between suppliers and demand of fund, which hinders their growth.
The indicative target has increased manifold in 2018 from 2010. And the rate of achievement against target on average was 114 percent during 2010 to 2018.
The deputy governor said apart from bank and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) also disburse huge microfinance loans. The MFIs disbursed about Tk 26 crore in fiscal year 2016-2017.
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