Palli Karma - Sahayak Foundation's (PKSF's) achievement in the effective development of microenterprises in Bangladesh is significant, says Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank's Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Speaking as the special guest at the closing ceremony of the WB-funded 'Sustainable Enterprise Project (SEP)' at PKSF Bhaban on Sunday, he said, "I would like to congratulate PKSF for its unwavering commitment and leadership to complete the project successfully."
The project, since 2018, has worked to increase the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices in over 65, 000 microenterprises, having provided them with various necessary services including financial, technical, resource development, technology transfer, value chain development, market linkage, and brand development support, said a press release.
Dr Farhina Ahmed, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, was the Chief Guest at the event. She said the government is attaching the highest importance to efforts to combat climate change fallout while continuing the pace of the economic advancement that the country has been enjoying for the past decade and a half.
The achievements made through SEP certainly add to the government's efforts to propel green growth in the country's economy.
PKSF Chairman Dr M. Khairul Hossain, who presided over the program, revealed that the SEP-supported microenterprises employed over 300,000 people across the country, most of them belong to low-income groups.
"Thanks to the project's interventions, their living standards have improved." These microenterprises have the potential to continue to expand and create more employment opportunities even after the completion of the project, Dr Hossain added.
Earlier in the welcome speech, Dr Nomita Halder said that SEP is the first-ever microenterprise development project to include the issue of environmental conservation at its core.
"PKSF currently serves approximately 20 million people through its Partner Organizations by offering inclusive and tailored financing, training, and technical assistance ... PKSF emphasized the need for employment generation for sustainably alleviating poverty, and microenterprises have proven to be an effective tool for that," added Nomita.
High officials from different government offices, PKSF's Partner Organizations, SEP-supported microentrepreneurs and PKSF officials of different ranks, among others, were present at the event.