BRAC Bank signs refinance deals with BB to support entrepreneurs

BRAC Bank PLC has signed two agreements with Bangladesh Bank to expand access to affordable financing for cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprises (CMSMEs), reinforcing its commitment to entrepreneurship development and financial inclusion.

The agreements will enable BRAC Bank to provide financing to entrepreneurs in industrial clusters across the country and extend low-cost funding support to MSMEs under Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Sector Fund for the Development of MSMEs.

Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, managing director and CEO of BRAC Bank PLC, and Nawshad Mustafa, director of the SME and Special Programmes Department of Bangladesh Bank, signed the agreements at BB headquarters in Motijheel, Dhaka recently, according to a press release.

Nurun Nahar, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, attended the signing ceremony.

Under the Cluster Finance Refinance Scheme, which has a fund size of Tk 3,000 crore, BRAC Bank will provide term loans and working capital support to entrepreneurs operating in various industrial clusters nationwide.

Eligible businesses will be able to access financing at concessional interest rates starting from 7 percent, helping them expand operations, improve productivity, and generate employment.

The second agreement enables BRAC Bank to participate in the Tk 1,500 crore Financial Sector Fund for the Development of MSMEs.

Under this scheme, MSMEs in the manufacturing and service sectors will be able to obtain financing at a 7 percent interest rate. The facility offers loans of up to Tk 1 crore for micro enterprises and up to Tk 5 crore for small and medium enterprises.

As the country’s leading SME-focused bank, BRAC Bank, with refinancing support from Bangladesh Bank, continues to play a pioneering role in expanding access to finance for grassroots entrepreneurs, supporting business growth, job creation, and sustainable economic development, the release added.

Husne Ara Shikha, executive director of Bangladesh Bank, and Mahbubur Rahman, head of Cottage, Micro and Small Business (Unit 2) and head of Liability and Cash Management at SME Banking of BRAC Bank PLC, were also present, at the event along with senior officials from both organisations.