One of the biggest ways that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted Bangladesh is how adversely it affected our small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It also revealed and highlighted some problems that our economy has yet to shake off -- an over-reliance on a handful of sectors, oversaturated job markets, and lack of effective social safety nets have led to short-term development that is far from sustainable.
While businesses and our investment climate have seen upward trends, the same unfortunately cannot be said for our MSMEs, who, despite the historical lack of support, continue to be a foundational component to the economy at large.
To that end, we agree with the NBR chairman's sentiments that MSMEs need room for growth and that our larger industries have a role to play here in facilitating that growth.
However, the biggest issue facing our MSMEs is lack of fianance. Even during the pandemic, while our biggest sectors -- such as RMG -- were receiving support from the government, it was the MSMEs that were once again left scrambling. To that end, there continues to be a lack of incentives and drive provided to MSMEs so that they can continue to innovate and grow.
With the pandemic behind us, it is now time to let our MSMEs truly flourish.
We cannot afford to stand back and watch as smaller industries, which account for 80% of overall employment, continue to limp behind and hinder our economic potential.
For a nation that is looking to become a middle income economy within the next few years, it is imperative that the administration start tending to the needs of our many industries and sectors -- our MSMEs cannot be excluded.
