Press Release

The 7th meeting of the SME Development Working Committee of BUILD was held on 7th February 2021, co-chaired by K. M. Ali Azam, Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Mahbubul Alam, President Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI). Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO, BUILD, presented two keynotes presentations on Industrial Policy 2016 and Support for CMSMEs in Bangladesh & Revisiting the Action Plan of SME Policy 2019 to Address COVID-19 Situation.

CEO BUILD informed at the very beginning of her speech that among the 26 recommendations placed in the 6th SMEDWC, ten have been implemented, and two are in process. She stressed the importance of the inclusion of Logistics as a High Priority Sector in the National Industrial Policy 2021. Bangladesh is going to graduate from LDC by 2024. This will be a considerable achievement for Bangladesh. On the other hand, we will lose some preferential treatment in the export market. To attain sustainable cost competitiveness, there is no alternative to improve the logistics scenario in Bangladesh. Replacement Cost and Value of Fixed assets excluding and buildings may need further clarification. She emphasised the design of an action plan for the fruitful implementation of National Industrial Policy2021’ by addressing the impact of COVID-19 in the socio-economic context. She urged the inclusion of the definition of CMSME and Women Entrepreneurs in the industrial Policy 2021. National Policy for SME cluster base development as well as to ensure ease of finance for the clusters needs to be ensured.

K. M. Ali Azam, Secretary, Ministry of Industries, thanked BUILD for the presentations and organising such a wonderful meeting. To reach the goals set by the government by 2041, it is essential to implement demand-based individual Cottage, Micro, Small, Medium & Large industries. The Ministry of Industries will consider all the recommendations placed by BUILD in the National Policy 2021.

Mahbubul Alam, President, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), in his welcome speech, said that there is no alternative to harmonised and synchronised policy advocacy for sustainable SME growth in Bangladesh. 99% of the industries in Bangladesh belong to the SME sector. This sector contributes 86% of total employment generation in Bangladesh. The way forward to resolve the constraints faced by SMEs needs to be addressed in the upcoming Industrial Policy and SME Policy properly. President CCCI drew the attention of the government to ensure ease of financing for the WEs.

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To increase women’s participation in government procurement in Bangladesh, the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of Bangladesh, Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), and the International Trade Centre (ITC)’s SheTrades Initiative organized a virtual policy dialogue on “Gender-Responsive Public Procurement in Bangladesh: A New Methodology” on February 3, 2021. The dialogue took stock of the outcomes of previous dialogues and presented a newly developed methodology by ITC to create a gender-responsive roadmap for public procurement in Bangladesh.

Having welcomed the participants, Director (Joint Secretary) of CPTU Md. Aziz Taher Khan said that the presence of women tenderers in the meeting is a clear testimony in favour of developing a gender-responsive public procurement in Bangladesh.

The Government has made the Public Procurement Act, a new set of Public Procurement Rules and Citizen Portal EGP System to improve performance of public procurement with more transparency and ensuring fair treatment to all. We have seen that the presence of women in public procurement is not adequate. Yet, the discussion gives some indications about the way forwards for developing a gender-responsive public procurement in Bangladesh in the coming days for enabling women-owned businesses (WOB) to access markets and working closely with both private and public sectors to develop tools and knowledge to prioritize gender equality in business opportunities, said the CPTU Director.
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Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO, BUILD informed that governments spend USD 9 trillion on public procurement every year. This can account for approximately 10-15% of GDP in developed countries and up to 40% GDP in developing countries. Women account for only 1% of public procurement opportunities worldwide. The participation of women entrepreneurs in the public procurement system is very insignificant in Bangladesh because of the knowledge and skills gap. To facilitate the Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs in the public procurement system in Bangladesh, she emphasized initiating an effective Gender Responsive Public Procurement Road Map to accommodate the WEs in the existing system.

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BUILD Chairperson Abul Kasem Khan paid a courtesy call on MA Mannan MP, Minister of Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh, on 26 January 2021 at the Minister’s office.

Planning Minister MA Mannan said that we need to step ahead to ensure more private sector engagement in a public-private partnership for coordinated development in the country.

Stressing on the importance of enabling the business environment in Bangladesh, he stated that the government would extend all forms of logistical support to make the private sector vibrant. In this line, he appreciated the formation of the Logistics and Infrastructure Working Committee of BUILD. It is commendable that BUILD already has a well-functioning public-private dialogue (PPD) model. He expressed hope that BUILD, with its Working Committees, will continue to contribute to the government’s policy-making process independently.

BUILD Chairperson Abul Kasem Khan briefly highlighted the organisation’s major activities and appreciated that the government had taken a number of fiscal, monetary, and micro-financial measures to combat COVID-19. The pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to the entire global economy, which continues to exert downward economic pressures on countries across the world. With timely action, the government not only delivered economic relief to many but also injected confidence into businesses and the economy, he said.

Further initiatives to address employment and revive domestic demand would be critical to set the economy back on a robust growth pathway. Otherwise, the target of the Perspective Plan for manufacturing growth may be challenging to achieve, he added.

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The Government of Bangladesh is working to promulgate policy on trans-fat and use of edible oil in restaurants as well as raise stakeholder awareness on the issue, said Abdul Kayowm Sarker, Chairman of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA). The policy will address the issues of proper use of edible oil and trans-fat content in food.
According to Food Safety Hygiene Regulation 2018, in section 7(a), nobody can use any by-products of food preparation. Used cooking oil is a kind of waste product in restaurants and food industries; hence it must not be applied for further use as it violates the Food Safety (Hygiene) Regulation, 2018. In particular, we are interested in implementing the testing methods into our regular checks at restaurants and other food business operators to monitor the exact amount of used cooking oil and other criteria, said he.

Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and Muenzer Bangla Private Limited- a subsidiary of Muenzer Bioindustrie of Europe, organised the virtual dialogue on the Policy of Developing Collection System for Used Cooking Oil in Bangladesh on 11 January 2021. Abdul Kayowm Sarker, Chairman, BFSA, joined the meeting as chief guest.

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After graduation of Bangladesh, a number of DFQF (Duty-Free Quota-Free) facilities will be eroded; the country will need to proceed for bilateral FTA with potential partner countries for which we need to have more profound studies, research and understanding for offsetting revenue loss in order to make the country competitive in export, said Dr Md. Jafar Uddin Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.

While co-chairing the 8th meeting of Trade & Investment (T&I) Working Committee of Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) on 31 December 2020 at the Ministry of Commerce, Dr Md. Jafar Uddin said that export diversification is one of the priorities of our government, for which our government is working actively.

Having welcomed the representatives from different public and private sector entities, the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce assured implementation of BUILD’s proposed reform for export diversification and supportive policies for Non-RMG sectors.

He also requested BUILD to send all proposals coming out of the Trade and Investment Working Committee meeting, and they will be actively considered, but we need the recommendations with an action matrix so that we can coordinate with different ministries accordingly to see a better implementation of our reforms.

Barrister Nihad Kabir, President, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), who is the Co-chair of the Trade and Investment Working Committee from the private sector, said that the government should come forward to provide equal fiscal, monetary assistance to all the potential export-oriented sectors as like the RMG.

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