The 10th edition of the National SME Product Fair-2022 will kick off on Thursday to promote and sell products manufactured by local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to both local and international visitors.
State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder made the announcement at a press conference organized by the SME Foundation in the capital on Tuesday.
According to the SME Foundation, they will organize the 10-day "10th National SME Product Fair-2022" along with the Industries Ministry.
Earlier, they used to organize it for seven or eight days. However, on the request of the entrepreneurs and to cover four holidays during the fair time, they tailed it to 10 days this year, from November 24 to December 3.
Like the previous editions, this year's fair will be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center at Agargaon in the capital.
According to the foundation, 325 SME entrepreneurs from 12 sectors will take part in this year's fair and there will be 350 stalls.
Majumder said that 311 entrepreneurial organizations will display their products in 325 stalls, where 60% of entrepreneurs will be women.
The SME Foundation said that the 12 sectors include light engineering, electrical & electronics, plastics, ICT, leather, jute, food and agro-processing, herbal/organic, craft, fashion designing, jewellery, and others.
There will also be a secretariat of SME Foundation, media centre, blood donation centre, meeting booth and stalls of various organizations like BITAC, BSTI, BSCIC, BCIC, BSEC, JDPC and BCSIR to present themselves in front of the visitors, he added.
There will also be stalls for platinum, gold, silver and other co-sponsors.
According to the National Industrial Policy 2022, priority sectors like agro-processing industries, agro-machineries, ICT, leather and leather goods, light engineering, jute and jute goods, plastics, crafts, jewellery, toys and other industries will get preferences.
As always, there will be no stalls of foreign or imported products, said the State Minister for Industries.
Moreover, five seminars on access to finance, the role of SMEs in addressing the world economic recession, the potential of SME entrepreneurs in cross-border e-commerce, regional and global networks for women entrepreneurs and the role of academicians in upgrading the technology of SMEs will be organized during the 10-day fair.
Kamal Ahmed Majumder also said that the harassment SME entrepreneurs face should be reduced by improving the ease of doing business.
He also said that SMEs across the country are producing various products in different categories but face many problems due to a lack of proper knowledge of the marketing process.
“Market linkages and expansion are essential to empowering entrepreneurs. The importance of expanding multilateral market facilities exists to assist Bangladeshi SME entrepreneurs in obtaining fair prices for their products,” he added.
The SME Foundation provides assistance with proper product marketing opportunities.
The SME Foundation will also award the 'National SME Entrepreneur Award 2022' in male and female categories in order to recognize the contribution of SME entrepreneurs.
This year, six entrepreneurs will be awarded 'The National SME Entrepreneur Award 2022' in five categories, said the SME Foundation.
In the last nine National SME Product Fairs, around two thousand small and medium entrepreneurs sold products worth Tk32.88 crore and received orders worth Tk53.50 crore.
Dr Mafizur Rahman, managing director of the SME Foundation, moderated the event while Dr Masudur Rahman, chairperson of the SME Foundation, chaired the event.
On the sideline of the press conference, SME Foundation Chairperson said that they are preferring the entrepreneurs involved with manufacturing eco-friendly, climate change-resilient products.
He also said that they also prioritize product diversification, especially from sectors such as light engineering and those related to agricultural machinery, food processing, ICT and jewellery.
