Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector are facing multiple challenges, including product marketing, access to financing, technological adoption, quality improvement, and workplace health and safety, according to the SME Foundation.
A two-day buyer-seller meet, aimed at linking SME cluster products and women-led businesses with markets and helping established companies identify new suppliers, kicked off on Saturday in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The opening ceremony was chaired by SME Foundation Chairperson Md Musfiqur Rahman, with Md Nuruzzaman NDC, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Industries, attending as the chief guest, a press release stated.
Rahman emphasised the sector’s scale, noting that a 2013 Foundation study identified 177 SME clusters across 51 districts, employing nearly 2 million workers—74% male and 26% female. The annual turnover of around 70,000 enterprises within these clusters is estimated at approximately Taka 30,000 crore.
Organised by the SME Foundation with support from the World Bank, the event featured 25 SME clusters from districts such as Kishoreganj, Tangail, Sirajganj, Srimangal, Bogura, Kushtia, Gaibandha, Jashore, Manikganj, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Rangamati, and Jamalpur. The sectors on display included leather, light engineering, handloom, hosiery, fashion and home textiles, Nakshi Kantha, wood and bamboo, pottery, and jewelry. Additionally, 46 women-led enterprises showcased their products and supply capabilities.
Through its credit wholesaling and incentive programs, the Foundation has disbursed loans totaling about Taka 185 crore to nearly 2,800 entrepreneurs.
Despite substantial production capacity in sectors such as light engineering, handloom, Nakshi Kantha, small garments, handicrafts, furniture, bamboo and cane, jewelry, and leather, many entrepreneurs continue to face obstacles in market access, financing, and modern technology adoption, according to a recent SME Foundation analysis.
