NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A new United Nations backed development project has been launched to help nearly 120,000 Bangladeshi micro entrepreneurs, 90% of whom are women, expand their small enterprises and develop new ones. The UN International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) will provide USD 35 million of the estimated USD 60 million finance for enterprise development and employment creation project.

The main participants in the initiative will be current successful micro credit borrowers whose businesses are crucial for the growth of the rural economy, and the project also hopes that some 200,000 jobs for extremely poor people will be created by the newly bolstered small businesses.

“The micro enterprises will create vital jobs for much poorer people who live well below the poverty line and often do not have adequate housing or enough to eat,” said Nigel Brett, IFAD’s country programme manager for Bangladesh.

They often lack the confidence and ability to risk taking a micro credit loan to start an enterprise and would rather find employment in small local businesses, he said.Although the project will be national in scope, it will emphasise on rural areas.

Continue Reading UN Launches Project For Micro Entrepreneurs in B`desh.