A two-day conference aiming to strengthen market linkages for the small and medium entrepreneurs from clusters across the country started at Dhaka on Monday.
The buyer-seller conference, organized by the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation with support from the World Bank, began at the Bangladesh Institute of Architects auditorium in the capital鈥檚 Agargaon.
The conference would also help the entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, to establish businesses and discover diverse suppliers, according to a press release.
Ministry of Industries鈥� additional secretary, Md Nuruzzaman, attended the event as the chief guest, where officials from the ministries, entrepreneurs, and academicians were also present.
At the conference, entrepreneurs from 25 SME clusters and 46 enterprises 鈥� representing sectors such as leather, light engineering, handloom, hosiery, fashion and home textiles, nakshi kantha, wood and bamboo crafts, pottery, and jewelry 鈥� showcased their products and supply capabilities to commercial buyers and business houses.
Speaking at the event, SME Foundation chairperson Musfiquar Rahman said that the foundation had identified 177 clusters in 2013 involving nearly 2 million workers, of whom 74 per cent were men and 26 per cent women.
The SME clusters, spread across 51 districts, generate an annual turnover of about Tk 30,000 crore.
Moreover, 20 more clusters have since been identified, ranging from light engineering, to small garments.
He also said that despite their potential, cluster entrepreneurs often face challenges in marketing, financing, technology adoption, product quality improvement, workplace safety, and health standards.
鈥楾o address these, SME Foundation has introduced a wide range of initiatives including infrastructure development, modern technology integration, design diversification, quality assurance training, raw material recycling, policy advocacy for industrial recognition and GI certification, cluster-based loans, ICT support, and establishment of Common Facility Centers (CFCs),鈥� he added.
So far, development needs have been assessed in 95 clusters, with regular interventions ongoing in 40.
Nearly 2,800 entrepreneurs have received Tk聽185 crore in loans under the Foundation鈥檚 credit wholesaling programme and incentive packages, while training and partnerships with financial institutions have strengthened banking capacity among SME entrepreneurs, he added.
As part of the conference, ten women entrepreneurs would pitch their ventures before a jury panel, with winners receiving awards on the closing day.
Currently, SMEs contribute about 30 per cent to Bangladesh鈥檚 GDP.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Economic Census 2024, more than 99 per cent of the country鈥檚 11.8 million industrial enterprises fall under cottage, micro, small, and medium industries.
The sector accounts for 85 per cent of industrial employment, engaging over 30 million people nationwide.
Since its establishment in 2006, SME Foundation, under the Ministry of Industries, has supported nearly 2 million entrepreneurs鈥�60 per cent of them women鈥攖hrough its programs aligned with the National Industrial Policy 2022, SME Policy 2019, and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the press release added.
