Initiative to ease loans and business services for women entrepreneurs

He said this at a meeting with a delegation of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) at the Ministry of Industry on Monday. The delegation was led by the organization's President Sangita Ahmed.

The commerce minister said that due to the launch of the single window system, women entrepreneurs can obtain trade licenses, Import Registration Certificates (IRC), and Export Registration Certificates (ERC) online. These services can be taken by applying and paying fees from anywhere in the country or even abroad.

Noting that the SME sector loan range has been increased from Tk 300 crore to Tk 2,000 crore, he said this money will be distributed at 6 percent interest. He also expressed a positive stance on restructuring the SME Board and increasing women entrepreneurs' representation at the policy-making level to expand their opportunities.

At the meeting, BWCCI representatives highlighted women entrepreneurs' lack of information, complexities in business registration, and limitations of coordination at the district level. They proposed a central database, a compliance desk, and regular coordination meetings at the central and district levels to solve these problems.

The representatives said that because there is no specific information on how many women entrepreneurs in the country are working in which sectors, it is difficult to provide need-based policies and support. At the same time, they demanded the formation of a central service platform to assist with business registration, necessary documents, and compliance with rules and regulations.

Organization Treasurer Shahana Jafrin, Ridma Khan, and Ulfat Jahan Mun, among other representatives, were present at the meeting.