Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), at a high-level roundtable on Saturday, spotlighted the major hurdles facing the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), emphasising issues such as limited financing opportunities, burdensome certification procedures, loan access difficulties for women entrepreneurs and weak enforcement of competition laws.

Chaired by BCI President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), the event brought together representatives from government bodies, the central bank, the SME Foundation, and small and medium industries, among others.

According to a BCI press release, the roundtable was part of the chamber’s ongoing efforts to identify sector-specific challenges and develop solutions through broad stakeholder engagement.

During the discussion, participants raised several critical issues affecting MSMEs, including limited access to finance, hurdles in obtaining environmental certification, the specific barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in securing loans, complexities in VAT and tax regulations, certification processes, limited market access, and the lack of implementation of competition laws.

BCI President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury reaffirmed the chamber’s commitment to nurturing emerging entrepreneurs and supporting the growth of MSMEs, particularly in key areas such as light engineering, agro-based industries, halal products, the blue economy and leather goods.

He underscored BCI’s role in advocating for the removal of barriers facing local industries and announced that a comprehensive report based on stakeholder input would be prepared and submitted to the relevant government authorities.

BCI president further said that before engaging in formal discussions with government bodies, the chamber would finalise sector-specific issues through consultation with industry leaders and ensure these concerns are included in future negotiation delegations.