Another Tk20,000cr stimulus needed for SME sector: Dr Atiur
He recommended implementing the SME Policy for counteracting pandemic fallout
The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector needs a further allocation of at least Tk20,000 crore, according to Dr Atiur Rahman, former governor of the Bangladesh Bank.
Unveiling a report on the future of SMEs at a programme organised by the SME Foundation and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bangladesh, on Tuesday, he said coronavirus had reduced SME revenues by 66% while 76% of their products remained unsold.
Hardly 42% of SME workers got a partial salary while 4% did not get paid at all during the pandemic, he said.
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He said the SME sector's contribution to the Bangladesh economy is 25% and that the SME Policy 2019 is an effective initiative for developing the infrastructure and clusters in this sector.
He further said that developed countries are for the most part taking up the International Monetary Fund's Covid-19 funds.
Dr Atiur called for sourcing and allocating World Bank and Asian Development Bank funds for developing the SME sector in developing countries, including Bangladesh.
He said India had allocated 38% of its Covid-19 incentive packages for the SME sector while it is 33% in Thailand, and 24% in Malaysia.
But Bangladesh had allocated only 22% and it should be increased, he said.
To recover from the economic impact of Covid-19, he recommended fully implementing the SME Policy 2019, developing cluster-based SMEs, and creating a digital dashboard to monitor loan disbursement from stimulus packages in this sector.
Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana said the SME Foundation would be able to disburse Tk200 crore in the current financial year under the incentive packages.
SME Foundation Chairperson Md Masudur Rahman said Tk15,000 crore was distributed among 95,000 SME entrepreneurs under the incentive packages, but 2013 statistics say there are over 78 lakh SMEs in the country.
He said the SME Foundation's capacity has to be enhanced to develop this sector while structural and policy reforms are also needed.
SME Foundation Managing Director, Md Mafizur Rahman, moderated the event while Dhaka University Professor, Dr Abu Yousuf Mohammed Abdullah, and UNDP Country Economist Dr Nazneen Ahmed also spoke, among others.
