Creating entrepreneurs and generating employment are the government’s key priorities, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmood Chowdhury said on Monday.He made the remarks at the inauguration of the Small Business, Microcredit and Small Enterprise Fund project and a cheque distribution programme organised by the Employment Bank at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka.The minister said the initiative is a Tk 50 crore pilot project aimed at providing loans to people who are reluctant to approach conventional banks and helping them become entrepreneurs.Employment Bank was established to provide loans to people who are afraid to go to banks and help create entrepreneurs through employment opportunities, he said.The new project of the Employment Bank will help create new jobs across the country, he added.Khosru also highlighted the government’s new initiative focusing on the creative economy. Under the initiative, marginalised creative individuals are not only being provided with financial support but are also receiving training, along with assistance in product branding and marketing.I would also ask the Employment Bank to take similar initiatives, the minister said.He stressed that the initiative should be viewed as an economic investment rather than charity.People with creative talents, including music, can also be promoted so that they can contribute to the economy, he said.The government wants to monetise these creative activities, add value to them and make them marketable. We want to bring them into the mainstream economy, Khosru said.He said the government wants to focus on and support the creative economy, adding that successful implementation of such initiatives would have a positive impact on the economy and create employment opportunities.The minister also urged the Employment Bank to reduce its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio from around 4 percent to 1–2 percent. He said the bank was performing well and making profits.
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