The DCCI has said cottage, micro and small enterprises are deprived of loans and facilities under stimulus and other policy supports although 75 per cent Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are from smaller enterprises.
In order to overcome the situation, DCCI President Rizwan Rahman suggested redefining CMSME (cottage, small, and medium enterprises), and formulating an SME Act instead of the current policy.
The suggestion came when the board of directors of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), led by him, called on Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayunat his ministry on Monday.
The DCCI president proposed undertaking a project to create a sector specific database of CMSMEs and thus bring them under policy assistance, according to a DCCI press release.
The minister assured the delegation of all possible assistance to facilitate the private sector.
He emphasised the need for increasing both local and foreign investment to create more employment opportunities and equal industrialisation in every corner of the country with cluster development.
The DCCI president called on the government to establish agro-based economic zones in regions of higher concentration of agriculture such as Jashore, Rangpur, Mymensing and Sylhet.
“The future digital economy will be controlled by 4IR, IOT, Block Chain, Big Data and Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics,” he said as he called for engaging both public and private sectorsin making the youths better skilled.
Mr. Rahman requested the minister to facilitate bonded warehouse facility for leather product manufacturers and tax holiday facility to use modern technology in the shipbuilding, jute and jute goods, agro-processing and light engineering sector.
The business leader urged the minister to announce printing and publishing sector as industry considering its wide ranging contribution to the economy.
He also recommended that industries can be set up under PPP model in the unused land of state-owned industrial units across the country. He proposed inclusion of the DCCI in the “National Industrial Development Board”.
The Industries Secretary, KM Ali Azam, said in the upcoming Industrial Policy,the 8th Five-Year Plan and fourth industrial revolution will get priority.
DCCI Senior Vice President NKA Mobin, Vice President Monowar Hossain and members of the Board were present during the meeting.
