With how precarious the global economy currently is, Bangladesh must be fully committed to all its industries and businesses, and not just the major ones that continue to receive the lion’s share of the attention.
To that end, we cannot help but agree with the experts at a recent workshop at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) when they stated that innovation and skills development were imperative for the survival of our small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.
Too often, despite their enormous contribution to our economy and being a beacon of innovation and inspiration, the SME sector has failed to receive the support it not only deserves, but has earned. This dates back to even the Covid-19 pandemic, when multiple reports pointed out that while larger industries were receiving significant stimulus packages from the government, it was the smaller businesses that were once again being deprived of the much-needed support to sustain themselves.
Despite our stellar response to the pandemic, and our largely laudable decision-making in propelling the country forward, our failure to recognize the worth of SMEs to not just Bangladesh’s present but most importantly its future remains a glaring error on the part of the authorities concerned.
With how fast the world is changing coupled with its volatility, it is imperative that we not only invest more significantly in our SME sector, but do so with proper planning and thought, and ensure that they are imbued with the spirit of innovation and are trained with appropriate 21st century skills so that they can increase their contribution to the Bangladesh economy and help us reach our full potential.
For any developing nation, contribution from its small businesses is an extremely important component to their economy. As the nation harbours ambitions to move forward, our small businesses cannot be left behind.
