Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP has already exceeded 37 percent. About 99% of Bangladesh's industries and businesses are covered by the cottage industry SME sector.
She said, this sector controls 70 percent of the country's economic activities, which is about 80 to 85 percent of the total industrial employment. The SME sector supplies 30 to 35 percent of the total domestic industrial product demand. Our government has declared this year as 'National Handicrafts Year'.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all this in a speech given on the occasion of '11th National SME Product Fair-2024' to be held on May 19. Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Foundation (SME Foundation) is organizing the 11th National SME Product Fair 2024.
Referring to Bangabandhu's thoughts on industrial development, the Prime Minister said, the greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's industrial development ideas blossomed in the Jukta Front’s election manifesto in 1954, which he prepared himself.
She said that four points of the 21-point declaration of the manifesto were his industrial development plan. In 1956, he was the Minister of Industry, Commerce, Labour, Anti-corruption and Rural Assistance of the then East Pakistan. During this time, he took the initiative to expand the industry in Bangladesh.
After independence, the Father of the Nation announced the country's first industrial and investment policy in 1973 and nationalized industrial establishments. He formed the necessary offices under the Ministry of Industry. In the light of the development philosophy of the Father of the Nation, we have implemented comprehensive programs for the development of the industrial sector in the last 15 years. As a result, the industrial sector of the country is gradually progressing towards prosperity.
Referring to the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP has already exceeded 37 percent. Almost 99% of Bangladesh's industries and businesses are under the cottage industry SME sector. It controls 70 percent of the country's economic activity, accounting for about 80 to 85 percent of total industrial employment. The SME sector supplies 30 to 35 percent of the total domestic industrial product demand. Our government has declared this year as 'National Handicrafts Year'.
Referring to the contribution of her government in the proper development of small and medium industries, the Prime Minister said, we are formulating various business-friendly policies and implementing programs for the proper development of small and medium industries. In continuation of this, Industrial Policy-2022 and SME Policy-2019 have been formulated. We have given importance to the SME sector in SDG-2030, Rupkalpa-2041, Eighth Five Year Plan, and various policies and strategies.
To counter the impact of the Corona pandemic, we have provided financial incentives to SME industries and cash assistance to contribute to exports. Cluster-based industrial development at the grass-roots level has resulted in more manpower being engaged in the labor sector and increasing the number of women entrepreneurs and workers.
30,000 entrepreneurs have been created by SMEF through 150 programs on women entrepreneurship and startups. In the last 15 years, using the credit wholesaling model, loans of Tk. 716 crore have been distributed to 8286 entrepreneurs, of which 23 percent are women.
Referring to the contribution in the industrial sector, Sheikh Hasina said, our government has introduced the President's Industrial Development Award, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial Award, CIP (Industrial) to recognize and encourage creativity of successful entrepreneurs/institutions in the industrial sector.
As a result, the highest production of 22.33 lakh metric tons of salt in the last 62 years, implementation of 112.24 percent of the annual development program and export earnings of 1.25 billion US dollars in the leather industry are notable, of which the contribution of the SME sector is 32 percent.
The Ministry of Industry and the SME Foundation are working to increase the contribution of the SME sector to 40 percent by 2031.
She said that the SME product fair plays an important role in the marketing of SME products. This fair will increase awareness and demand for domestic products made by micro, small and medium industrial entrepreneurs spread in different parts of the country. In order to build the foundation of a prosperous and sustainable economy, there is no alternative to creating labor-intensive and low-capital SME entrepreneurs in the country. Our government is determined to create a suitable environment for SME entrepreneurs to come forward with the expansion of business and trade.
The SME sector and the National SME Fair are playing a leading role in transforming the country's youth into skilled manpower and increasing their employment opportunities, and this is how the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's dream of hunger-poverty, happy-rich dream of golden Bangladesh will be developed, as well as knowledge-based smart Bangladesh with information technology.