Midas Financing provides financial help
Mini Mart, a chain shop set up and run by women entrepreneurs, made a foray into the port city of Chittagong yesterday, following its success in Dhaka.
In his address to the inaugural as the chief guest, Industries Minister Dilip Barua said the government would provide all support for women entrepreneurs to ensure an easy access to business.
Twenty women entrepreneurs from Chittagong established the chain shop with the help of Midas Financing Ltd.
Midas Financing has provided loans to the entrepreneurs of up to Tk 5.4 crore for the project that exceeded Tk 6 crore in total investments. Midas Financing Managing Director Shafique-ul-Azam said each woman received Tk 27 lakh in loans.
Coordinated development will remain unattained if half of the population is kept out of business and industrialisation streams, the minister said.
The government has taken steps to create skilled women entrepreneurs by providing them with easy loans and industrial plots in industrial zones set up by Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), which should be conducive to changing the mindset of banks and financial institutions.
SME Foundation Chairman Aftab-ul-Islam attended the event as the special guest.
Midas Financing Chairperson Rokia Afzal Rahman, who chaired the event, said women entrepreneurs would play a vital role in the economy in future, as they are more sincere to business activities.
Loan recovery from the women borrowers is nearly 99 percent, which is a positive side, she said.
She added that women entrepreneurs need appropriate professional training to enhance their efficiency.
Aftab-ul-Islam said the problems women entrepreneurs still face in setting up a showroom or business for display and sales of their products need to be addressed.
Chittagong Mini Mart Co-Chairperson Razia Begum delivered the address of welcome.
The first Mini Mart was set up at Dhanmondi in Dhaka in 1996, followed by another three in a row.
Mini Mart in Chittagong has been set up on two floors of Afford Sultan Asylum Building at East Nasirabad.
