RAJSHAHI, Jan 25, 2024 (BSS) - SME Financing Company Limited, a subsidiary
company of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB), has disbursed Small and
Medium Enterprise (SME) loan worth Taka 91.21 crore.

The loans were disbursed among 7,519 SME entrepreneurs' aims at promoting the
sector in different potential areas of Rajshahi region during the current
2022-23 fiscal year.

It has also disbursed loans worth around Taka 15.15 crore among 1,517 women
entrepreneurs for flourishing the sector of women entrepreneurship together
with improving living and livelihood conditions of the women.
 
The company recovered loans of Taka 91.99 cr, including classified loans of
Taka 4.62 cr, from 6,957 borrowers during the same period. It has also
attained net profit of Taka 3.92 crore during the last financial year.
 
Around Taka 120.19 crore remained outstanding among 10,346 borrowers.
 
Meanwhile, the company has set a target of disbursing loans of 105 crore
together with recovering Taka 97 crore during the current 2023-2024 fiscal
year.
 
It has disbursed loans worth around Taka 45.18 crore among 3,606
entrepreneurs and recovered Taka 49.73 crore from 3,677 borrowers during the
first six months of the current fiscal.
 
These were revealed in the half-yearly performance review meeting 2023 of the
field officers of the company held at its office conference hall here
yesterday.
 
RAKUB Managing Director Niranjan Chandra Debnath addressed the meeting as
chief guest, while Chief Executive Officer of the company Abdullah Salah
Uddin Gazi was in the chair.

Company Directors Prof Rustam Ali Ahmed, Abdur Rahim and Maksuda Nasrin also
spoke.
 
Niranjan Chandra Debnath asked the company officials to expedite the SME
credit programme through intensifying motivational, awareness building and
monitoring activities so that the target group of the people can derive its
total benefits.
 
Terming the promising SME sector as labour-intensive he viewed that
successful promotion of the sector could be the effective means of
alleviating poverty, generating employment side by side with accelerating
economic growth.

SME promotion is very important for reducing the existing gap between rural
and urban areas besides recouping the losses caused by the adverse impact of
Covid-19 pandemic, he added.
 
The meeting was told that the SME loan was disbursed among the entrepreneurs
in 43 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore, Naogaon, Pabna,
Sirajganj, Bogura, Joypurhat and Kurigram districts.

Main objectives of the loans are of creating an intensive investment scope
for the agro-based SMEs in the light of the government industrial policy and
for supplementing the government's efforts to attain food security and
economic emancipation.
 
Various business fields especially software, agro-processing and its
business, agriculture, plantation, fisheries, poultry, tissue culture,
leather goods, health service and diagnostic centres and education services
have been selected for investment as small and medium enterprise loans.