In Bangladesh, only 9% of the SMEs have access to bank finance, and the remaining 91% don’t get bank loans though the government has allocated funds for helping small business owners to recover from the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Revealing this, Centre for Policy Dialogue’s Research Director Khandakar Golam Moazzem said the proportion of SME loans in the total bank lending has declined over the past few years, which can jeopardize the country’s sustainable development. Although Bangladesh’s SME loan potential is worth Tk266 billion, and it is a highly profitable sector, the nation’s SME sector is neglected in the bank’s credit structure, Moazzem elaborated.
