Experts for giving women low-interest loans

Experts recommended providing bank loans to women entrepreneurs at a lower interest rate with a longer grace period and without any collateral.

They also urged that the government to recognise the entrepreneurs working from home and facilitate their trade.

These suggestions came at a workshop on “Support to Women Entrepreneurs for Export Promotion” at Cirdap in Dhaka under the arrangement of World Bank-financed Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project (BRCP)-1 being implemented by the Ministry of Commerce.

Md Shafiqul Islam, additional secretary to the ministry; Dilshad Sultan Dossani, program coordinator at World Bank Dhaka Office, and Md Ataur Rahman, director at the Department of Women Affairs, were present at the workshop.

The representatives of different chambers, women chambers and trade associations of different districts were also present at the workshop. Hemayet Uddin, project director of BRCP-1 presided over the inaugural session.

The workshop recommended a set of actions for promotion of exports by the women entrepreneurs.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between different women chambers and the BRCP-1 to establish business support centres at women chambers’ offices.

The project director of BRCP-1 and presidents of Jashore, Rangpur and Rajshahi women chambers signed the MoU on behalf of their organisations respectively.