Tk 50cr Loan Drive to Turn Bank-shy People into Entrepreneurs

The government has launched a Tk 50-crore pilot project to bring people reluctant to approach conventional banks into entrepreneurship, aiming to create jobs and expand access to finance for small businesses and micro-enterprises.

“Creating entrepreneurs and generating employment were the government’s top priorities”, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said while inaugurating the Small Business, Microcredit and Micro-Enterprise Fund Project of Karmasangsthan Bank at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Monday.

He also distributed loan cheques among beneficiaries at the programme.

“Those who are afraid to go to banks will be brought into employment through loans and encouraged to become entrepreneurs. This was the purpose behind the establishment of Karmasangsthan Bank,” the minister said.

He said the new project would help create employment opportunities across the country by providing financing to people who often remain outside the formal banking system.

The initiative comes as Bangladesh faces growing pressure to generate employment and revive private-sector economic activity, particularly by expanding opportunities for small entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises.

Amir Khasru also called for greater support for the country’s emerging creative economy, saying talented people involved in music, arts and other creative activities should be brought into the mainstream economy.

He said government support should go beyond simply providing loans to marginalised creative workers and include training, product development, branding and marketing assistance.

“I would also ask Karmasangsthan Bank to undertake programmes in this area. This is about GDP, not charity,” he said.

People with creative talents, including those involved in music and other forms of artistic expression, could make a greater contribution to the economy if their work was properly developed and commercialised, he said.

“The government wants to monetise these creative activities. In this regard, we want to add value to their work and make it marketable so that they can be brought into the mainstream of the economy,” Amir Khasru said.

He said the government would focus on supporting the creative economy because successful implementation of such initiatives could contribute to economic growth while generating new employment opportunities.
At the same time, the finance minister urged Karmasangsthan Bank to strengthen its recovery efforts and reduce its non-performing loans (NPLs).

“It would be good if Karmasangsthan Bank can bring down its NPL from 4 per cent to 1 or 2 percent,” he said.

The minister said the bank was performing well and making profits, but stressed the need to improve the quality of its loan portfolio as it expands financing to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The pilot project is expected to provide a fresh financing channel for people who have traditionally remained hesitant to seek bank loans, with the government seeking to turn small-scale credit into new businesses, incomes and employment while maintaining greater discipline in loan recovery.