The SME Foundation will disburse Tk 100 crore as a government incentive to small and medium entrepreneurs in the current fiscal year to help them recover from the damages caused by the pandemic.

It will also hand over Tk 200 crore more in the next financial year, said Masudur Rahman, chairperson of the foundation.

He shared the information at the foundation's 15th annual general meeting at its office in Dhaka yesterday.

Regular coordination will be made with Bangladesh Bank to ensure smooth disbursement of these loans among the actual affected entrepreneurs through banks and financial institutions, the foundation said in a statement.

Some 10,199 entrepreneurs have benefited from SME Foundation's multifaceted activities related to product marketing, skills development and market expansion of products produced at home and abroad in 2019-20 financial year, said Nazim Hasan Sattar, general manager of the foundation.

"Of them, 4,509 are women entrepreneurs and 5,690 male."

The participating SME entrepreneurs of the eighth National SME Products Fair held in 2020 sold products worth Tk 4.95 crore and received orders for Tk 6.38 crore, said Sattar.

The audited financial statement of the foundation, auditor's report and its budget for 2021-22 financial year were approved at the meeting.