Call to cut red tape to ease loans for SMEs

SME entrepreneurs at a recent seminar said that they faced a series of bureaucratic barriers to getting loans to facilitate their business.

Besides, an endemic corruption at various levels in government institutions is holding back their progress, they observed. 

The observation came at a seminar hosted by the Centre for Governance Studies in collaboration with the Centre for International Private Enterprises to discuss the possibility of a common platform to combat corruption faced by the SME entrepreneurs in Rangpur city, said a release issued on Tuesday.      

According to the speakers, in most cases, they experienced that banks were not interested in giving out loans to small and medium enterprises, ignoring the existing laws.  

Most new people do not know about the licence required for starting a business, and they face various difficulties and harassment, they said.

In this case, the government institutions are prone to more irregularities in the name of the system instead of guiding them through the process, according to the speakers. 

Moreover, big industries often tend to create obstacles to the SMEs to limit their growth, and the trade bodies do not take initiatives in the interest of the business people, they stated.

Women entrepreneurs also expressed concern about the barriers they face due to corruption.

Regarding difficulty in getting loans, they suggested that different banks deal with the SME loans with renewed knowledge and policy on this sector and reformation to Vat and related tax policies.

The entrepreneurs also recommended providing SME training at grass roots level including in Dhaka.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/176887/call-to-cut-red-tape-to-ease-loans-for-smes