SME promotion imperative to bolster economic conditions in Rajshahi

Rajshahi Bureau: Experts at a view-sharing meeting unanimously mentioned large-scale promotion of Small and Cottage Enterprise (SME) can be the effective means of bolstering economic conditions besides accelerating the income generation and poverty alleviation in the region.
Both public and private banks should disburse more loans among SME entrepreneurs, particularly women ones, to promote SME entrepreneurship.
They came up with the observations while sharing views with small and medium entrepreneurs in the city. SME Foundation organized the meeting at Hotel Grand Riverview on Wednesday.
SME Foundation Chairman Prof Masudur Rahman addressed the meeting as chief guest with its General Manager Nazim Hassan Sattar in the chair.
President of Okya Foundation Shaheen Akhter Rainy, President of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industries Masudur Rahman and local unit president of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries Prof Rozety Naznin also spoke.
Prof Masudur Rahman termed the SME sector as labour-intensive and viewed that successful promotion of the sector can be the best way of alleviating poverty and generating employment opportunities to accelerate economic growth.
Besides, SME is very important for reducing the existing gap between the rural and urban areas.
Various business fields especially software, agro-processing and its business, agriculture, plantation, fisheries, poultry, tissue culture, leather goods, health service and diagnostic centres and education services have been selected for investment as small and medium enterprise loans.
The entrepreneurs should come forward to establish small and medium industries in the region to create employment opportunities for regional development.
He, however, said the present government under the dynamic and prudent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has adopted various need-based measures for taking forward the SME sector.
Chamber leader Masudur Rahman called for collective efforts of all government, entrepreneurs, banks and other financial institutions concerned for effective and successful promotion of SMEs to bolster the region’s economy.
He also emphasised the need for strengthening the efforts of generating enlightened entrepreneurs in grassroots through the best uses of area based industrial potentialities.
To this end, the government has pledged to remain beside the endeavors, he said adding that the country has already achieved uplift in every sector with the participation of both men and women and SME is the key driving force in the economy.