SMEs hope Baishakh fair will help them recover losses

Small and medium sized entrepreneurs affected by the Covid-induced lockdowns, shutdowns, and restrictions, hope the Baishakh fair starting in the capital on Thursday will give them an opportunity to recover from the aforementioned shocks.

As part of the celebrations of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangla New Year, the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) and the Bangla Academy are jointly organising the fair for the growth and development of small and medium sized entrepreneurs.

The industries and cultural ministers will inaugurate the event at 11am on Thursday.

Besides selling their goods on online platforms, the affected entrepreneurs are getting an opportunity to display and sell products at the fair.

BSCIC officials hope the fair will create opportunities for small entrepreneurs to sell their products and will help them get over the pandemic shocks.

Organised on the Bangla Academy premises, more than 150 small and medium sized entrepreneurs from across the country will showcase their products at the fair from 9am to 8pm every day.

The fair will showcase garments, jamdani, weaving products, pottery, handicrafts, jute goods, bamboo and cane items, and leather goods made by small entrepreneurs, especially women.

Although the Baishakhi fair is held every year, it has not been held since the coronavirus broke out in the country in March 2020. The fair will continue till 28 April to capture business opportunities centring  Baishakh and the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.

In previous years, the duration of the fair was 10 days, but this time it has been extended to 15 days to give entrepreneurs the opportunity to sell their products.

Mizanur Rahman, deputy general manager (Marketing) of BSCIC, told The Business Standard, "The crafts related to our heritage will be on display. Alongside the Baishakh celebration, it will be an opportunity for the Covid-affected entrepreneurs to display and sell their products."

"Entrepreneurs usually get a good response in selling products at every fair," he added.