Presentation on Bangladesh Country Report NANDITA SARKAR Senior Assistant Secretary M/o Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Date:

Country Report on :National SME Development and Business Cluster Nandita Sarkar Senior Assistant Secretary Ministry of Commerce Bangladesh Secretariat Dhaka.

CONTENTS LIST  Paragraph 1: Introduction  Paragraph 2: general information of the country  Paragraph 3: Historical background of the subject of “National SME Development and Business Clusters’’  Paragraph 4: Current issues and trends  Paragraph 5: Achievements

1. Introduction  Bangladesh, in case of manufacturing sector “Medium industry ” is defined as an industry or enterprise in which the value and replacement cost of durable resources other than land and factory buildings is between 15 million to 200 million taka or industry in which maximum 150 workers work while “ Small industry” refers to enterprise in which value or replacement cost of durable resources other than land and factory buildings is between 0.50million to 15 million taka or industry in which fewer than 50 workers work.

continued  in case of trading and other service sectors the definition of medium industry/ enterprise means an industry or enterprise in which the value and replacement cost of durable resources other than land and factory buildings is between 5 million to 100 million taka or industry in which maximum 50 workers work and “ Small industry” refers to enterprise in which value or replacement cost of durable resources other than land and factory buildings is between 0.50million to 5 million taka or industry in which fewer than 25 workers work

BANGLADESH : COUNTRYPROFILE  Bangladesh became independent in  Location: South Asia. Bordered by India on the east, west and north and by the Bay of Bengal on the south and a small border strip with Myanmar on the south-east.  Area: 147,570 sq km. Mostly alluvial fertile plain.  Population: million (2008).  Capital: Dhaka.  Climate: Sub-tropical monsoon.  Temperature: Average maximum 32°C and minimum 21°C.  A small country with huge Human Resource.  Population growth rate is 1.41

Historical background of the subject of “National SME Development and Business Clusters’’  Cottage industries are no new phenomena in Bangladesh. terracotta, brass-made crockery, potteries, jute products, hand waved fabrics (like khaddar, Jamdani, muslin etc),attractive handicrafts to fulfill their own and local need  PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper) highlighted SMEs as one of the flagship strategy  National taskforce on development of SME  SME Foundation,

Current issues and trends  public private partnership  women should be encouraged more in this sector to increase the number of women entrepreneurs.  proposal for establishing a business cluster for light engineering and allied products.

Achievements In major export items  Knitwear(39.21%),  Frozen foods(3.78%)  Jute goods(2.87%),  Chemical products(2.84%),  Leather (2.02%)  Raw jute(1.17%)  Agro products(0.85%),tea(0.11%)etc

Thank You