Dhaka, Bangladesh, November 23, 2011
– IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced today that more small and medium financial institutions are set to get more business opportunities thanks to a resource database provided by the IFC and Bangladesh Bank.”
The database will provide quarterly reports with up to date information on Small and Medium Enterprises lending activities, including information on region, sector, loan type, ownership format and locations of the enterprises. This is an initiative by the SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility, managed by IFC in partnership with the U.K. Department for International Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
As a result of the reports provided by the database, financial institutions will be able to streamline appraisal and prioritization of SMEs and more efficiently identify lending potential by region, and perform mapping and design of lending products based on sector requirements. They can also determine financial viability of SMEs through benchmarking against the sector and develop market strategies and underline funding requirements for each market segment.
Acknowledging the pivotal contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises in providing employment, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said, “The Small and Medium Enterprises database is a great effort from Bangladesh Bank in bridging the gap between small enterprises and the banking sector. By providing accurate and current information, sectoral and geographical knowledge limitations will no longer hamper access to finance and the growth of SMEs in Bangladesh.”
“The ability of financial institutions to conduct transactions is highly dependent on information and data they can access about the businesses they deal with,” said Tarek Kamal, the program manager for IFC’s Access to Finance unit. “With the help of this database we expect to see increased access to finance in remote areas as well.”
The database will include and supply information from 64 districts and collect information on cottage, micro, small and medium scale enterprises as defined by the Bangladesh Bank.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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