BRAC Bank, SME Foundation stand by SME Cluster entrepreneurs
BRAC Bank has partnered with SME Foundation to provide easy term loans to entrepreneurs in SME Cluster to help small businesses recover from the impact of the pandemic.
BRAC Bank and SME Foundation signed an agreement at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on 27 July.
After successfully implementing the two phases of Covid-19 stimulus package, SME Foundation has formed a revolving loan facility amounting to Tk300 crore with the fund from the government's stimulus package channelled through the foundation.
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Out of the total revolving fund, BRAC Bank alone will avail Tk80 crore, which will be disbursed to the entrepreneurs at various SME Clusters and other areas of the country at a subsidised rate of 4%. An entrepreneur can avail a maximum of Tk30 lakh repayable within three years. They will not need any collateral. BRAC Bank will give priority to women entrepreneurs in this loan facility.
Earlier in the fiscal year 2020-21 and 2021-22, in stimulus package spearheaded by SME Foundation, BRAC Bank successfully disbursed Tk80 crore to the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) across the country.
At the signing ceremony, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun MP; State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Mojumder MP; Financial Institutions Division Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah; SME Foundation Chairman Dr Md Masudur Rahman; SME Foundation Managing Director Dr Md Mafizur Rahman, high officials of different banks and NBFIs were present.
BRAC Bank's Managing Director and CEO Selim RF Hussain spoke at the signing ceremony and signed the agreement on behalf of the bank. The bank's Deputy Managing Director and Head of SME Banking Syed Abdul Momen was also present.
Welcoming the soft loan arrangement for the SMEs, BRAC Bank's Managing Director and CEO Selim RF Hussain said: "As an SME-focused bank, we are committed to ensuring easy access to finance to the grassroots entrepreneurs. Given the pandemic, we have redoubled our efforts to provide much-needed funds to the CMSME entrepreneurs. We believe this subsidised credit from SME Foundation will rejuvenate the cluster-based industries and help them take productivity to the pre-pandemic level."
