According to a recent nationwide study conducted by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) in partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), it was found that 74% of SME entrepreneurs across eight divisions of Bangladesh were directly affected by corruption, while doing business.
The fact that corruption is ingrained in the socio-economic reality of Bangladesh was unilaterally recognised by all participants of the study. The use of bribes and political influence to gain favours were found to be the two most common forms of corruption in Bangladesh, according to a press release. One of the most common talking points that came up during the study was the need to create an independent SME platform that would advocate for the needs of the SME sector in Bangladesh and help them fight against corruption.
To address this urgent need of the SME sector, CGS held a networking event at a hotel in Dhaka where SME representatives from all eight divisions came together to talk about the possibility of creating a new independent SME platform and what needs to be done for such a platform to function.
CGS Executive director, Zillur Rahman, gave the keynote speech at the event, where he stated that the potential of this new SME platform would only be possible if independent SMEs came together and formed a united platform against corruption.
Around 50 representative entrepreneurs from the SME sector participated in the network event.
News Courtesy:
https://dailyasianage.com/news/301927/smes-unite-against-corruption