It is encouraging to see the Bangladesh Bank introduce a new scheme of loans for some of the most marginalized groups in our country.
Under this plan, the marginalized can take a loan of Tk25,000 to Tk500,000 in a single name while Tk2,000,000 can be borrowed as a five-member group under the new credit guarantee scheme.
It is no wonder that, in order to stimulate the economy in rural areas, marginalized people require access to opportunities and resources that make it possible for them to invest in their communities.
Unfortunately, aside from the microfinance activities of the likes of Grameen Bank, most marginalized people don’t have access to the funds they need in order to pull themselves up from poverty.
Even then, the majority of the loans offered are not enough which causes the people living in rural areas to turn to professional money lenders and loan sharks, a practice that proves to be detrimental in the long run.
Fortunately, the new plan under Bangladesh bank is structured in a way that these issues can be mitigated. And for a country celebrating its 50th year of independence, this has been a long time coming.
The government needs to make sure that the loans go to the people they are supposed to go to. Proper checks and balances have to be installed so that there is zero corruption in this project. Our marginalized communities have suffered much in recent years, with the global pandemic only further working to make their lives more miserable.
Any initiative that seeks to ease their burden needs to be celebrated and indeed perpetuated.
