A two-day “DCCI Entrepreneurship and Innovation Expo” kicked off in the capital yesterday to create new entrepreneurs especially from the young generation.
The show is being jointly oraganised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Bangladesh Bank (BB) at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city.
The expo aims at showing the path for the new generation and bridging the gap between the entrepreneurs and the financial institutions for ensuring financial support for them.
The show is a part of the DCCI’s initiative for creating 2000 new entrepreneurs with the help of country’s financial institutions. The DCCI took the initiative last year. Barrister Fazle Nur Taposh MP formally inaugurated the expo, as chief guest, in absence of finance minister AMA Muhith, who was scheduled to open the expo.
The chief guest and other high ups of the DCCI also handed over cheques of credit from various banks to nine entrepreneurs under the DCCI’s initiative of creating 2,000 new entrepreneurs.
Inaugurating the expo, barrister Fazle Nur Taposh stressed the need for widening the tax net instead of increasing the rate to enhance the overall tax volume.
He also urged the government to simplify the taxation system, which would virtually enhance the government’s revenue collection.
“Some 3,200 entrepreneurs have registered their names with the DCCI through on-line, of which 2,200 business projects under different categories have been selected while 1050 youths received training from the DCCI,” said Shahjahan Khan, President of DCCI.
“So far 75 projects under different categories have so far been forwarded to various banks from DCCI for financing and most of the entrepreneurs of those projects have already started their business with their own funds.”
Apart from financing problem, lack of awareness, self-confidence, knowledge in entrepreneurship development and insufficient trainings are the major obstacles towards entrepreneurship development in the country, said Khan.
A total of 39 bank and non-bank financial institutions are taking part in the expo including Bangladesh Bank, Junior Chamber International (JCI)-Dhaka, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Daffodil International University, BD Venture Limited, Small and Cottage Industries Training Institute (SCITI), Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), CTO Forum, Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB), Hackathon, World Bank, the Future Leaders Ltd (the FLL), UK, Bangladesh Institute of ICT in Development (BIID) and Rotary International.
The inaugural ceremony was attended, among others, by DCCI Foundation chairman and chairman of Anwar Group of Industries Alhaj Anwar Hossain, former DCCI president and chairman of E2K project Md Sabur Khan and senior vice -president Osama Taseer.
