Youth Entrepreneur Fund Raised to Tk 500 Crore

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has announced that the refinancing fund for young entrepreneurs under the Bangladesh Bank has been increased from Tk 100 crore to Tk 500 crore. He said that although no interest-free loan scheme currently exists for young entrepreneurs, financing support through low-interest and entrepreneur-friendly loan facilities remains available.

The minister disclosed the information on Tuesday while responding to a question from Sylhet-3 Member of Parliament Mohammad Abdul Malik during a parliamentary session chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

During the question-and-answer session, the lawmaker sought clarification on whether any easy-term or interest-free loan programs were currently available for young entrepreneurs.

In response, the finance minister said Bangladesh Bank is not operating any interest-free loan scheme for young entrepreneurs at present. However, the central bank continues to run several refinancing programs aimed at supporting new business ventures and startup financing.

He noted that the fund size of the New Entrepreneur Refinance Scheme for the cottage, micro and small enterprise (CMSE) sector, financed by Bangladesh Bank’s own resources, has been expanded fivefold—from Tk 100 crore to Tk 500 crore.

Under the scheme, new entrepreneurs can obtain loans of up to Tk 1 million without collateral. The maximum interest rate for such loans has been fixed at 7 percent. Entrepreneurs requiring larger financing can access loans of up to Tk 3.5 million subject to providing the necessary collateral.

The finance minister said the government's objective is to encourage small and emerging business ventures, generate employment opportunities, and expand economic activities through entrepreneur-friendly financing mechanisms.

He added that Bangladesh Bank will continue to introduce and strengthen support measures aimed at improving financial inclusion and expanding access to affordable financing for new entrepreneurs in the future.

//DBTech/IH/MUM/OR//