• Community Bank Bangladesh joins Bangladesh Bank’s Startup Refinance Scheme to boost financing access for new entrepreneurs
• Scheme offers startups low-cost loans, easier terms, and advisory support to overcome collateral and credit history hurdles
• Partnership aims to foster entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable economic growth in Bangladesh

Community Bank Bangladesh PLC has officially signed into a participatory arrangement with Bangladesh Bank to become a part of the central bank's Startup Refinance Scheme, a step that is likely to enhance the sources of finance for budding entrepreneurs throughout the country. The agreement was signed at Bangladesh Bank's Jahangir Alam Conference Room, with a presence of senior officials of both the institutions.

The collaboration is an important milestone in helping innovative and promising startups access critical financial aid, allowing them to fasten their growth and help shape Bangladesh's changing entrepreneurial landscape. With the entry into the scheme, Community Bank will now be in a position to provide loans under favorable terms to startups that have difficulty procuring funding via traditional banking avenues.

Bangladesh Bank designed and runs the Startup Refinance Scheme, which provides startups with cheap finance in addition to easy loan terms, making capital more readily available to new businesses in their initial phases. Aside from funds, the scheme also focuses on advisory services to direct young business enterprises through their vulnerable initial years. The ultimate goal is to facilitate entrepreneurship, stimulate job creation, and advance sustainable economic growth by developing a pipeline of strong and innovative enterprises.

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The signing ceremony was joined by Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Nurun Nahar, and Executive Director, Husne Ara Shikha. Joined by the organizations in the official signing were Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman, Director (current charge) of Small and Medium Enterprise and Special Programmes Department (SMESPD) of Bangladesh Bank, and Kimiwa Saddat, Managing Director (current charge) of Community Bank Bangladesh PLC. Their presence served to indicate the emphasis put on increasing access to finance for young companies and complementing the wider national imperative of promoting entrepreneurship.

Officials were hopeful that the agreement would reduce startups' hurdles to access credit, as they tend to struggle with either no collateral or history to show. By establishing a framed refinancing system, Bangladesh Bank is opening the door to a more inclusive financial system where young entrepreneurs can develop their ideas into viable businesses.

With the involvement of Community Bank, the Startup Refinance Scheme receives more impetus, swelling the ranks of financial institutions promising to support Bangladesh's future entrepreneurs and fuel economic growth in the long term.