Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) on Saturday called for prioritizing online quality education, different language course, lean management and foreign connections for developing different industries aimed at tackling the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
The chamber made the call at a web talk series, session-6, titled “Following the COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and opportunities for Entrepreneurship”, has been powered by ROBI, said a press release.
Acting High Commissioner of Malaysia in Bangladesh Amir Farid Dato’ Abu Hasan, Group Managing Director of the Anwar Group of Industries and Chairman of the Bangladesh Steel Manufacturer’s Association (BSMA) Manwar Hossain, BMCCI past president Syed Moazzam Hossain and BMCCI Vice President Anwar Shahid, among others, took part the discussion.
BMCCI President Raquib Mohammad Fakhrul delivered the welcome speech.
Amir Farid Dato’ Abu Hasan said the COVID-19 pandemic is an unforeseen global phenomenon which has thrown the economy into chaos and effectively put commerce at a standstill.
“It has affected most businesses, including the small medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro SMEs which make up a significant 98.5 percent of Malaysian businesses. The Malaysian government responded to the coronavirus threat by introducing PRIHATIN or the Prihatin Raykat Stimulus Package, the purpose of which was to ease financial burdens of the people and businesses coping with the pandemic,” he added.
Raquib Mohammad Fakhrul said as the COVID-19 continues its disruption, the livelihood of many entrepreneurs and small business owners have been threatened.
“According to a recent Goldman Sachs survey, 50 percent of business owners that were surveyed said that they didn’t think they could continue business operations for more than three months,” he added.
He said “Our current situation is deeply unsettling. Entrepreneurs are facing many obstacles, including ensuring the businesses they have put their blood, sweat, and tears into continue to stay afloat.
On top of that, many of them have employees that they’re trying to protect and reassure—a monumental task when they themselves are struggling with burnout.”
Manwar Hossain hoped that the global health system would recover quickly, and the world economy should be revitalized with the contributions and collaboration of science (including social science), industry and governments.
He highlighted the opportunities more rather than focusing on the hindrances in the way of prioritizing online quality education, different language course, lean management, foreign connections for developing different industries.
