With a view to providing up-to-date information for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a new SME helpline centre (SME-HC) was launched in Dhaka yesterday.
The new one is among the 32 centres established in 25 districts of the country to have a close contact with actors of the sector.
Industries Secretary Nurul Amin inaugurated the centre at the office of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce Industry (DCCI), which the DCCI set up in cooperation with the Ministry of Industries (MoI).
MoI is currently working to establish such a centre in each district under the SME Sector Development Programme (SMESDP) funded by Asian Development Bank.
"We believe that the centre would cater to the SMEs' needs and such enterprises be more competitive in the global market," DCCI President Hossain Khaled hoped while speaking at the function.
According to the National Private Sector Survey 2003, there is about six million micro, small and medium enterprises in the country, of which only 27,000 are considered nearly ready to expand or to export, he added.
Desired productivity in SMEs are retarded for lack of innovative technology, skilled workforce and up-to-date information, he observed.
In the inaugural programme, a seminar on e-Commerce was also conducted with DCCI president in the chair.
Kamal Uddin Ahmed, deputy secretary to the Ministry of Science and ICT, delivered his keynote speech at the seminar.
E-commerce means any use of information and communication technology (ICT) by a business house that helps it to improve its interactions with customers or suppliers, the keynote speaker said.
Fear of change, higher cost, sophistication and lack of adequate human resources are the main challenges for expanding e-commerce in the country, he opined.