Bangladesh’s Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector is witnessing a sharp decline in activity, with production down by as much as 30% in recent weeks amid the global energy crisis, rising raw material costs, and frequent load-shedding. Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, President of the National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh (NASCIB), told a local newspaper that the situation is becoming untenable for many smallscale manufacturers. ‘The energy crisis has pushed many institutions to the brink of closure.
in many cases, production has already dwindled by 25% to 30%,’ Shovon said.