Bida seeks govt help in equity fund for new entrepreneurs

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) has urged Finance Division to provide assistance in its initiative of forming an equity fund for the country’s new entrepreneurs. Bida Chairman Md Aminul Islam recently sent a letter to Finance Minister AMA Muhith requesting for the help. In the letter, the chairman said: “This fiscal year Bida has allocated Tk10 crore for the emerging entrepreneurs’ fund.” He said Bida plans to create an equity fund with an initial amount of Tk110 crore. “We want to help young entrepreneurs from the fund in the current fiscal year,” Aminul Islam said. He said the government is unable to create new entrepreneurs in the absence such funding initiative. This is helpful as the new entrepreneurs in Bangladesh usually do not have enough resources to start a business, according to the letter. Bida said it has prepared concept papers on creation of new entrepreneurs with the help of Brac University and Daffodil International University in Dhaka. The concept papers have elaborated on management of the training and financing for new entrepreneurs. On the basis of the guidelines as developed in the papers, the standards will be set for the emerging entrepreneurs. Bida has urged Finance Division to fund Tk100 crore under the Bida venture capital fund. In Bangladesh, around 2m new faces are entering the job market every year, with only half of them being employed, either at home or abroad. Bangladesh Bank has taken efforts as part of its policy to create additional employment opportunities in the country. In 2013 the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry published a handbook on entrepreneurship with a view to creating 2,000 innovative entrepreneurs across the country.