On 12 August, a high-level roundtable titled “Unlocking Business Opportunities and Access to Finance: Insights from the Municipality Competitiveness Index (MCI)” brought together senior leaders from financial institutions, policymakers, development experts, and municipal representatives. Participants included officials from BRAC Bank, Eastern Bank, BRAC Microfinance, IPDC, LankaBangla Finance, SME Foundation, Bangladesh Bank, Swisscontact, and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
Innovision Consulting was represented by Khondker Morshed Millat, Practice Area Lead and former Director of the Sustainable Finance Department at Bangladesh Bank and current faculty member at BIBM; Nazmul Ahsan, Portfolio Director; and N. M. Shahriah, Associate in the Inclusive Finance Solutions Portfolio.
The keynote address was delivered by Masrur Reaz, Chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh. He presented findings from Bangladesh’s first Municipality Competitiveness Index, which captures local business perspectives and helps guide evidence-based improvements in municipal services. One important finding was a significant financing gap for local enterprises. Many businesses still rely on personal savings because they have limited access to loans and other financial products.
Discussions at the event explored solutions such as improving financial literacy, offering financial products that meet the needs of small businesses, increasing market access, and strengthening business support services. These issues are especially important for women entrepreneurs and small local enterprises. Participants agreed that stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors is needed to bridge financing gaps and unlock the economic potential of municipalities.
On behalf of Innovision Consulting, Khondker Morshed Millat shared his expert insights on integrating MSMEs into mainstream financial channels. He highlighted the role of enabling extension services in enhancing MSMEs’ financial inclusion and outlined how stakeholders such as the SME Foundation, banks, and other relevant institutions can contribute to this process.
Nazmul Ahsan presented key field-level observations from his professional experience, noting that training programs often face challenges when the same participants attend sessions from different locations, limiting opportunities for new beneficiaries. He also emphasized the need for banks to adopt a more accommodating approach in serving MSMEs to better support their growth and access to finance.
As an implementation partner of the PRABRIDDHI Local Economic Development project, Innovision works to build the capacity of municipalities, create competitive business environments, and connect entrepreneurs with financing opportunities. Through this work, Innovision addresses challenges such as low financial literacy among small businesses, limited market access, and the lack of suitable financial products.
Innovision remains committed to promoting financial inclusion and sustainable local economic growth through its work with PRABRIDDHI and other strategic initiatives.