Financial inclusion is the safest way out of poverty. Sarathi, a project under Swisscontact is building a network of self-sustaining public and private partnerships to bring the RMG workers under financial inclusion.
They say three out of five RMG workers fell outside the purview of the formal financial institutions and only 20% of RMG workers are saving money through formal financial services whereas 80% of them are making transactions through cash.
The speakers revealed it at the launching ceremony of the ‘Sarathi- Improving Financial Health’, a 24-month project of Swisscontact in collaboration with MetLife Foundation in the capital on Tuesday.
Planning Minister MA Mannan launched the initiative as the chief guest saying that the initiative aligns with the vision of “Smart Bangladesh”.
He also said that the Sarathi is an ambitious project which will greatly benefit RMG workers. “The Swisscontact and Metlife are skilled organizations and I hope they will run it accordingly,” he added.
According to speakers, the World Bank has cited financial inclusion as a key enabler in reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
One of the major objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) of the government of Bangladesh is to achieve 100% financial inclusion by 2024.
While presenting Sarathi, Bipasha Sharmin Hossain, team leader of Sarathi, said that they will work to improve the financial health of the RMG workers through daily financial obligations and consumption needs to make them more financially resilient, help in financial decision-making and financial planning.
Till December 2021, Sarathi helped open salary accounts of 76,263 employees of 49 RMG factories partnering with four banks and 113 alternative delivery channels, she said.
Their target for 2022-23 is to improve financial health through awareness and increase digital transactions, savings, and upskilling.
In his discussion, Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said that the knitwear sector has been working with the Sarathi and Swisscontact for many years.
“The Sarathi initiative is a very important initiative as a part of 4.6 million RMG workers will benefit from this. It is a part of the journey towards a digital Bangladesh,” he added.
He also said, by the end of the FY22 the RMG export will exceed $42 billion, of which knitwear will earn 60% or $25 billion.
“We always treat our workers as part of our family, now it is the time for buyers and brands to come forward and ensure fair prices,” he added.
As the Sarathi is an initiative by Swisscontact, they have a lot to do to ensure a fair price, he added.
He also said that they ensured the wages of Tk10,000 crore for the workers during the Covid-19 lockdown through MFS.
“So, financial inclusion at a large level is very much possible and, in this regard, the MFS companies also have the responsibilities,” he added.
Asif Ibrahim, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that the RMG sector of the country is the pioneer of women empowerment in Bangladesh.
He also said that the MFS have to work on creating an ecosystem, convenient access, and other issues.
Zahangir Alam, responsible sourcing, social and labour manager of Bestseller, said that they follow their own code of conduct in ensuring the safety of the workers from three perspectives like commitment, supply chain management, and risk mitigation.
“We have our own specialist to monitor factory atmosphere, remediation, and communicate with manufacturers.”
Mohammad Rashed, joint director of Bangladesh Bank; Mohd Ziaul H Molla, DMD, SMR and CAMLCO, Bank Asia Limited; Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam (retd), chief external and corporate affairs officer of bKash Limited, and Rahel Ahmed, CEO of Nagad also took part in the panel discussion.
At the event, Prajna Paramita Saha, additional director, financial inclusion division of Bangladesh Bank, presented the keynote.
Md Tariqul Islam director-general of NGO Affairs Bureau, Krishna Thacker, assistant vice president of MetLife Foundation, Ala Ahmed, CEO of MetLife Bangladesh also spoke and Manish Pandey, director-South Asia, Swisscontact presented the welcome remarks.