IDLC PURNOTA: GOING BEYOND FINANCING
Purnota Manager, SME Division
The key component of any business growth is in having access to timely financing. However, women entrepreneurs often face challenges in regard to access to appropriate sources of financing for the growth of their businesses. When designing IDLC Purnota, we took into account the main hurdles women entrepreneurs face so as to take measures addressing this gap. Historically, where banks are often found to be discouraged to lend to women due to lack of data to assess the credit risks, IDLC
Purnota chose a very different journey we proudly share.
IDLC Purnota at a Glance
Since its formal launch in 2015, IDLC Purnota has been one of the highest distributors of Bangladesh Bank’s Refinance Scheme and other low-cost financing for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, and has served 5,312 clients until Dec 2020.
Why Invest Efforts in Women Entrepreneurship?
By closing gender disparities in economic opportunities, USD 4.5 Trillion can be added to Asia and Pacific’s GDP by Year 2025.*
* Source: EMERGING LESSONS ON WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: Case Studies from the Asian Development Bank and the Asia Foundation (October 2018).
RESILIENT TURN AROUND OF SMES FROM THE ADVERSE IMPACT OF COVID-19
Recovery of the SME Sector: An Essential for Ensuring Economy’s Overall Survival
Like in most other nations, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented and shook the Bangladeshi economy. One of Bangladesh’s most prominent industries, the fisheries and livestock industry, employing about 70% of the individuals in the rural areas was struck hard. The dairy farmers also lost around BDT 189 million daily during the lockdown. The disruption of activities in the transportation industry, broke down the supply chain of the construction industry as shipments were delayed. Traders could not operate for two months, causing the price of construction materials fell significantly. Similarly, the fixtures and furniture industry, which employs the second highest number of workers in the country after the RMG industry, lost 70% of its business due to the pandemic, causing 0.60 million worker to be laid off. The non-allopathic or alternative medicine industry on the other hand is one of the few industries to make profit from the pandemic as people turned to Ayurvedic products, Naturopathy and Yoga to boost their immunity. At the same time the demand for Homeopathy medicine saw a sharp rise as people visited Homeopathic practitioners to treat any symptom related to COVID-19.
On the other hand, disruption of activities in the food and food processing industry, resulted in decreased sales for super shops and local vendors, while online sales saw a huge surge. At the same time the price of important staples rose by 15-20%. The local textiles industry faced losses due to an increase in price of raw materials. The light engineering sector, like most other sector also suffered a huge loss as 90% of the workshops were forced to shut down. The situation improved for most business once the lockdown was lifted, with many business recording higher profits than the previous years. The government’s stimulus package worth BDT 5000 crore also fastened the recovery process.
Sushmita Saha
Assistant Manager
IDLC Finance Limited