News Desk :
The SME Foundation will extend Tk100 crore in loans to peripheral small entrepreneurs in the next one month to strengthen their financial capacity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Entrepreneurs of 40 cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise (CMSME) clusters across the country will get these loans at an interest rate of 4%.
Nazim Hasan Sattar, general manager of the SME Foundation, told media that the financial support to
peripheral entrepreneurs would have a positive impact on the rural economy.
Entrepreneurs of a cluster, first time stimulus seekers, prioritised SME sub-sectors, women entrepreneurs, and differently abled and third gender people will get preference for the low-cost borrowing package.
Women entrepreneurs alone will account for 25-30% of the total stimulus loans. The lowest limit of the loan is Tk1 lakh while the highest ceiling is Tk75 lakh.
Borrowers can repay the loan in maximum 24 monthly instalments, depending on the bank-client relationship.
Top five entrepreneurs will be able to qualify for group loans, also subject to bank-client relationships.
After the Covid-19 outbreak last year, the government announced a Tk20,000 stimulus for small and medium entrepreneurs. But there were allegations that small entrepreneurs did not get the loans due to the complex disbursement process through banking channels.
Subsequently, the government took an initiative to engage non-governmental organizations in loan disbursement to the peripheral level. On January 17 this year, the government approved a new package amounting to Tk1,500 crore for small traders, entrepreneurs and farmers.
