Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Faruque Hassan has urged Proparco, the financial wing of the French Development Agency, to finance SMEs with low-cost funds and grants.
“Such funding can help the SMEs as they often find it difficult to avail regular financing schemes,” he said.
Faruque said this when a delegation of Proparco met him in Paris yesterday to discuss possible collaboration in supporting the sustainable development of Bangladesh’s RMG industry.
The Proparco delegation led by Reza Hassam Daya, deputy head of, manufacturing also included Nahema Lemarchand, Jean-Emile Loubet, and Th,odore Planes.
They had discussions about the status quo of Bangladesh’s apparel industry, its vision, challenges, and potential.
In the meeting, the BGMEA President apprised the Proparco team of the progress made by Bangladesh’s RMG industry in the areas of workplace safety, social and environmental sustainability, and workers’ wellbeing.
He also mentioned the Sustainable Strategic Vision-2030 which aims to accelerate the growth of the RMG industry in a sustainable manner so that it could have positive impacts on the economy, the environment, and the lives of people.
Faruque said Bangladeshi garment factories were making huge investments to make their production process cleaner and more energy efficient.
However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are in need of low-cost funding to integrate environmental sustainability practices, he said.
Chair of BGMEA standing committee on press, publication, and publicity Shovon Islam was also present at the meeting.
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