BGMEA president calls on Proparco to finance SMEs in sustainability
A delegation of Proparco, the financial wing of the French Development Agency, met with BGMEA President Faruque Hassan in Paris to discuss possible collaboration in supporting the sustainable development of Bangladesh's RMG industry.
The Proparco delegation led by Reza Hassam Daya, deputy head of manufacturing, also included Nahema Lemarchand, Jean-Emile Loubet and Théodore Planes.
They had discussions about the status quo of Bangladesh's apparel industry, its vision, challenges and potential were discussed at the meeting, said a press release on Sunday, reads a press release.
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In the meeting BGMEA President Faruque Hassan apprised the Proparco team of the progress made by Bangladesh's RMG industry in the areas of workplace safety, social and environmental sustainability and workers' wellbeing.
He also mentioned the Sustainable Strategic Vision-2030 that aims to accelerate the growth of the RMG industry in a sustainable manner so it has positive impacts the economy, the environment and the lives of people.
He said Bangladeshi garment factories were making huge investments to make their production process cleaner and more energy efficient.
However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are in need of low-cost funding to integrate environmental sustainability practices, he said.
Faruque Hassan urged Proparco to provide SMEs with low-cost fund and grant as they often cannot avail regular financing schemes due to stringent due diligence.
Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Press, Publication and Publicity Shovon Islam was also present at the meeting held in Paris on 18 February.
