A holiday market was opened in Agargaon area in Dhaka on Friday under an initiative of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Oikkyo Foundation.
The initiative was taken as a pilot project to sell the products of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. The market would sit on Friday and Saturday on both sides of the ICT Road from Parjatan Bhaban to Election Commission Bhaban in Agargaon with some 100 stalls.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi inaugurated the ‘DNCC-Oikkyo Holiday Market’ on the ICT Road in Agargaon during an event on Friday. DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam presided over the inaugural ceremony, reports BSS and UNB.
Mentioning that the contributions of the SME sector are still 25 per cent, the minister called upon all to play their due role from their respective positions to make the operations of the holiday market successful
Tipu said such an environment should be created so entrepreneurs and consumers become more interested in holiday market.
The holiday market will feature leather goods, jute-made goods, handicrafts, fashion and lifestyle products, home decor products, organic agricultural products, and agricultural products of the CHT region.
During the inaugural event, DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam said the city corporation will set up holiday markets in all 54 wards under its jurisdiction.
“We arranged this kind of market for the first time to promote the SME sector. If this pilot project runs smoothly, we will initiate setting up holiday markets like this in all 54 wards of Dhaka North,” he said.
“Mainly SME entrepreneurs will sell their products in this market. There will be no middlemen, so they will sell their products directly to the customers at an affordable price,” he added.
Mentioning that DNCC is working to restore the sidewalks as per the mayor’s election manifesto, he also said a pilot project for hawkers is underway at Mirpur 10.
“Certain hawkers will be allowed there five days a week, after 4 p.m. We have also thought about establishing evening markets,” he said.
