Allocate 20% of green funds to women entrepreneurs

Banks and financial institutions have been instructed to allocate 20 percent of their green financing to women entrepreneurs and 25 percent to the cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprise (CMSME) sector.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) issued a notice yesterday, stating that an additional 15 percent of CMSME loans must be distributed among women entrepreneurs.

Currently, banks are required to allocate 5 percent of their total loans for green financing.

The BB notice highlighted the crucial role of micro and small enterprises and women entrepreneurs in the country's inclusive development and sustainable industrialisation.

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), various initiatives have been undertaken to economically empower women, reduce gender disparity, and enhance their participation in the economy, it said.

However, financing for the CMSME sector and women entrepreneurs remains below the desired level, the central bank noted.