International Trade Centre signs MoU with SME Foundation

The International Trade Centre (ITC) will support the SME Foundation in the implementation of its programmes for improving the skills of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and strengthening their organisations.

To this end, the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a city hotel on Wednesday, according to a press release.

Md Mofizur Rahman, managing director of the SME Foundation, and Fiona Shera, director of ITC for Sustainable and Inclusive Trade, signed the MoU.

Under the MoU, the SME Foundation and ITC will create women-friendly business policies, increasing their communication with buyers at national and international levels.

Currently, ITC is working on women's development in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin American countries. At the signing ceremony, the ITC announced the implementation of a special programme for women entrepreneurs' development with the support of the SME Foundation.

A delegation from Bangladesh recently participated in the "Creating Digital Assets for Your Business" programme in Mauritius as a part of this programme, the release reads.

Some 1,200 women entrepreneurs from Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Indonesia, and Mauritius will get the scope to participate in 84 fairs in person and virtually. Around 6,649 new workers will receive training and employment opportunities in 4,600 women-owned businesses, 73% of which will be women. Also, 91 women entrepreneurs' organisations will get a scope to improve their skills.

ITC believes that women entrepreneurs can play an important role in the development of Bangladesh, helping it meet the challenge of becoming a developing country by 2026.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun was the chief guest, and Md Masudur Rahman, the chairperson of the SME Foundation, was the special guest on the occasion.

Duncan Overfield, deputy development director of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, Monowara Hakim Ali, director of the SME Foundation, were also present at the event.