Bangladesh invites German investors for SME sector development

Bangladesh has invited German investors for the development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that, what the state minister for foreign affairs has said, “occupy an important position in our national economy.”

“We invite greater participation of German investors in the development of SME sector in Bangladesh in addition to infrastructure development, power regeneration, ICT, shipbuilding and renewable energy sectors,” Md Shahriar Alam said speaking at a meeting in Dhaka on Thursday.

“We are keen to build even closer and stronger partnership with Germany to realize the full potential of our relationship.”

The SME Foundation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh jointly organised the expert group meeting titled “Employment, Equity and Diversification of SMEs in Bangladesh: Experiences from the German Model”.

Currently, SME sector contributes roughly 28-29 percent in Bangladesh’s economy while it is approximately 52 percent for Germany.

German multinationals are already engaged in the development of critical infrastructure in Bangladesh, particularly in textile, power and energy sectors, including renewable energy.

Prof Dr Hansjoerg Herr and Dr Zeynep Nettekoven of the Berlin School of Economics and Law presented a study report where they identified financing, education, cluster and value chains as well as social capital as four key drivers of German success in SMEs.

Bangladesh is now working to establish 100 ‘Economic Zones’ (EZs) in different parts of the country as part of its new industrialisation plan.

The state minister also invited German companies to take advantage of these new economic opportunities through building new business partnerships in Bangladesh.

German Ambassador to Bangladesh Thomas Prinz also spoke at the meeting, among others.