The two-day conference of sellers and buyers of the country鈥檚 small and medium enterprise sector stressed opportunities for entrepreneurs to engage directly with commercial buyers.
Experts at the conference also urged providing mentoring support for business development, introducing聽production capacities, and establishing聽buyer-supplier linkages.
The two-day Buyer-Seller Conclave 2025, organised by the SME Foundation with support from the World Bank, concluded on Tuesday in the Bangladesh Institute of Architects auditorium at Agargaon in Dhaka.
The conference also helped the entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, to establish businesses and discover diverse suppliers, according to a press release.
At the concluding day, industries adviser Adilur Rahman Khan highlighted the critical role of the SME sector.
鈥楾he sector contributes nearly 30 per cent to the national GDP and accounts for approximately 85 per cent of total employment in the industrial sector,鈥� he added.
He also said that the SME Foundation actively supports entrepreneurs through policy guidance, training, technology upgrades, market expansion, and women entrepreneurship development.
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.
As part of the conference, ten women entrepreneurs pitched their ventures before a jury panel.
At the concluding day, Hosna Ferdous Sumi, director and senior private sector specialist at the World Bank for Bangladesh and Bhutan, and officials from the SME Foundation also spoke.
