Published: 07:09 AM, 26 June 2026
‘Govt aims to transform Bangladesh into employment-oriented economy’
Industries, Commerce, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Wednesday said that the government's goal is to transform Bangladesh into a more investment-friendly, competitive and employment-oriented economy. “To achieve this goal, the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector is being given the highest priority. The greater the number of small and medium enterprises in the economy, the broader the economic activities and the stronger the overall economic flow will be,” he said. The minister made the remarks while addressing a workshop titled “National Budget 2026-27: Expectations and Achievements of the SME Sector” as the chief guest in the capital.
The event was organized by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) and chaired by its President Daulat Akhtar Mala. Among others, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Member (Tax Policy) Barrister Mutasim Billah Faruqui and SME Foundation Managing Director Anwar Hossain Chowdhury attended the workshop as special guests. SME Foundation General Manager Mohammad Jahangir Hossain presented the keynote paper. Muktadir said that according to the Economic Census conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the country has around 11.7 million economic establishments, the majority of which belong to the SME sector. The sector contributes around 34 percent to the national GDP, he added. He said that the proposed budget for FY2026-27 includes various incentive and support programmes worth nearly TK 7,800 crore for the SME sector. In addition, he said, TK 5,000 crore has been earmarked for the CMSME sector from the TK 60,000 crore stimulus package announced by Bangladesh Bank.
Separate special funds of TK 500 crore for startups and women entrepreneurs and TK 300 crore for the creative economy have also been formed, he added.
Hossain also called for increasing the Tk2,000 crore refinancing fund for easy-term lending through three government agencies and raising the SME Foundation's allocation to at least Tk5,000 crore.
Under the "One Village, One Product" initiative, he recommended allocating at least Tk100 crore of the proposed Tk300 crore creative economy fund to the SME Foundation.
Citing SME Foundation research, Jahangir Hossain said Bangladesh has 177 industrial clusters employing nearly 20 lakh people, and urged the government to allocate at least Tk2,000 crore annually for cluster-based SME development.
The minister said the government is implementing a range of initiatives, including the “One Village, One Product” programme, creation of a national designers’ pool, updating SME cluster mapping, youth entrepreneurship development, startup support, mentorship programmes, skills development and establishment of an entrepreneur database.
Referring to Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, he said the country has already met all three criteria required for graduation. However, further preparation is necessary to ensure a smooth and sustainable transition, he said, adding that the government has requested a three-year extension of the graduation timeline.
Muktadir also said the government would ensure uninterrupted energy supply to enable existing industries to utilize their full production capacity. He added that there is a plan to gradually transfer underperforming state-owned industrial enterprises to the private sector.
The minister further said strategic reserves of import-dependent commodities and energy resources would be built to protect the economy from global crises and supply disruptions. Emphasizing the need to reduce logistics costs, he noted that Bangladesh’s logistics expenses currently account for around 16 percent of GDP, compared to the global average of 10 percent.
The government will take measures to reduce the cost through improved port management, enhanced supply chain efficiency and greater product traceability, he added.
