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The Small & Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF) was formally inaugurated today,
July 17, 2007, by Dr. A. B. Mirza Md. Azizul Islam, Hon’ble Advisor, ministries of
Finance, Commerce, Post & Telecommunications, Government of the People’s Republic
of Bangladesh at a ceremony held at the Hotel Sonargaon, Dhaka.
Special Guests who also spoke on the occasion, wishing the SME Foundation well and
giving exceedingly valuable guidance and suggestions were Mr. Mir Nasir Hossain,
President, FBCCI; Ms. Hua Du, Country Director, ADB Bangladesh Resident Mission;
Mr. Abdul-Muyeed Chowdhury, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SME Foundation
and Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor, Bangladesh Bank.
Halfway through the session, the Hon’ble Finance Advisor, accompanied by the Chair-
person and all the other dignitaries, examined, with obvious interest, several features of
the content management system before, finally, declaring the SME Web Portal open.
Speaking on the occasion, the Hon’ble Finance Advisor appraised his About SMEF
The Small & Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF) was formally inaugurated today,
July 17, 2007, by Dr. A. B. Mirza Md. Azizul Islam, Hon’ble Advisor, ministries of
Finance, Commerce, Post & Telecommunications, Government of the People’s Republic
of Bangladesh at a ceremony held at the Hotel Sonargaon, Dhaka.
Special Guests who also spoke on the occasion, wishing the SME Foundation well and
giving exceedingly valuable guidance and suggestions were Mr. Mir Nasir Hossain,
President, FBCCI; Ms. Hua Du, Country Director, ADB Bangladesh Resident Mission;
Mr. Abdul-Muyeed Chowdhury, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SME Foundation
and Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor, Bangladesh Bank.
Halfway through the session, the Hon’ble Finance Advisor, accompanied by the Chair-
person and all the other dignitaries, examined, with obvious interest, several features of
the content management system before, finally, declaring the SME Web Portal open.
Speaking on the occasion, the Hon’ble Finance Advisor appraised his audience about the
great importance the Government attaches to the subject of the development of SMEs in
the country. He reminded the audience that he was recently called upon by a delegation
representing the community of women entrepreneurs. The women entrepreneurs
represented, with some visible angst, how difficult it is to succeed in the highly
competitive world of SMEs in Bangladesh when one’s bank charges on interest rates as
high as 17% to 22%.
The Hon’ble Finance Advisor appeared to commiserate with the women entrepreneurs’
delegation, whereupon he urged the managing directors of private banks present in his
audience to do everything in their power to charge SMEs in general and women
entrepreneurs in particular interest rates that are affordable. The Hon’ble Finance Advisor
expressed his conviction that the under the leadership with a proven track record, the
SMEF would more than meet the high expectation the Government and the nation have
about it. The Advisor also informed the audience that an orderly transference of the Small
Enterprise Fund (SEF) from the Bangladesh Bank to the SMEF was already in train.
The Hon’ble Advisor of Industry, Mrs Chowdhury, said that as well as carefully going
into the challenging area of credit wholesaling, where prudential guidelines of the
Bangladesh Bank would have to be upheld meticulously, the SMEF would need to be
very diligent, highly professional and innovative in both generating a facilitation capacity
to have business creation services and business development services delivered to SMEs
in general and women entrepreneurs in particular in a demand-driven manner.
Ms Hua Du said in her address that, while it is relatively easy to create a new institution,
what really count for a lot more is to run it most prudently, efficiently, astutely, for that is
the only way in which an institution can sustain itself and then can grow in others’ regard
and esteem. She issued a mild note of caution that the SMEF would be well-advised to
get involved in wholesaling credit very very gingerly and cautiously. She also advised the
SMEF to ensure that it makes the utmost effort to involve, empower, upgrade and
collaborate with the private sector and not crowd it out.
Mr. Abdul-Muyeed Chowdhury responded by saying that the SMEF has every desire to
make the private sector the principal change agent on the ground. SMEF, he said,
constantly would remind itself that it is a catalyst, a facilitation platform, and wants to be
remembered by its work. Public-private partnership is the shibboleth, the imprimatur, by
which the SMEF would want to be recognized.
Mission
The abiding mission of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh as regards the
development of SMEs is the primacy of pro-poor development of Bangladesh’s small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) in the present age of unceasing globalization, and all-consuming re-
structuring. This flagship mission translates into more measureable goals of spurring growth rate
of SMEs, upgrading capacities and productivities by existing SMEs and providing stimulus to the
emergence of new enterprises, their capacity to generate employment and reduce poverty.
Vision
Objectives
To promote, support, strengthen and encourage the growth and development of SMEsin all
productive sectors of the economy, including the service sector,throughout the country.
To plan, program and financeinterventions for delivery by private sector organizations, including
chambers,associations, trade bodies, research and development institutions includinguniversities,
consultancy companies and professionals.
To facilitate SME access to finance bycreating and supporting appropriate strategies and
institutions in order toencourage and promote potential SME booster sub-sectors, but shall not
sanctionand/or deal in direct credit delivery to SME clients. However, SMEF may alsopromote,
select and supply fund to banks and financial institutions having wideoutreach throughout the
country for onward lending to SME clients all over thecountry.
To rationalize public sector approaches andsupport structures for SME development through
systematic capacity assessmentand interventions for organizational development and institutional
capacitybuilding.
Tocreate a pro-growth and pro-poor business environment in which both existingand aspiring
SME entrepreneurs, affordably.
Toidentify and report policy anomalies, market and institutional failures thatare
prejudicial to the legitimate interests of SMEs, based on in-depthresearch, and
stakeholder consultations.
Tocreate a database and provide all needed information about SMEs to investorsand
service providers