A study titled ‘The Future of SMEs after the Coronavirus Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities’, has maintained that Bangladesh’s allocation of stimulus for helping the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is lesser than those allocated by countries like Malaysia, India and Thailand, for the same purpose.
The findings of this study — as per the report, India allocated 38 per cent of its total coronavirus stimulus funds for the SME sector, while it was 33 per cent in the case of Thailand and 24 per cent in the case of Malaysia even if in the case of Bangladesh, allocation for the same purpose is just 22 per cent — were unveiled at a recent webinar organised jointly by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bangladesh and the SME Foundation of Bangladesh.
Considering the same, participants at the seminar, reportedly, suggested that the Government should increase the incentives for SMEs and pay special attention to the sector even as speaking on the occasion former Governor of Bangladesh Bank (Bangladesh’s central bank), Atiur Rahman said, “The revenue of the local SME sector has fallen by 66 per cent due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis as 76 per cent of their products remain unsold.”
