Employment Bank a ray of hope in job seeker

A ray of hope sparked in the eyes of a previously diffident youth as a new-generation bank assured him a modest sum in loan for opening a laundry shop at his village, says UNB.

"I worked in a laundry shop for long and learnt the job. Now I'll open a shop of my own," said the beaming youth, hailed from a Dhaka village, coming out of the Karmasangsthan (employment) Bank office at Paltan in the capital today.

Handy enterprises like motor workshops, poultry and fish farming, cattle fattening, horticulture and photostate are among a large number of proposals enlisted with the Bank, now working in Dhaka district only.

The start-up capital estimated for running the ventures ranges from Tk 25,000 to maximum Tk 5 lakh.

"Unemployed youths, be they literate or unlettered, are our targets. But the literate are given priority," said the Bank's managing director, A J Masudul Haque Ahmed.

Inaugurated by the Prime Minister on September 22 last, the Bank was given approval for opening 20 more branches by last December. Process of recruiting manpower for those new branches is under way, officials said.

"We've got tremendous responses from the very beginning. Returns and utilisation of credits so far distributed are also encouraging," the MD told UNB.

A sum of Tk 25,000 is enough for initiating a laundry shop and Tk 50,000 for a motor workshop. With a starting capital of Tk 5 lakh, a doctor can open a small clinic, he said.

"We want the youths to just start with something, then we're ready to help them again," said the banker setting forth present today's banking concepts, particularly in a country like ours burdened with over 20 million unemployed.

The Bank's headoffice, also working as the Dhaka branch, at 15 Purana Paltan is manned by bankers on deputation from Bangladesh Bank and other NCBs. "Only two new employees from outside have joined us. Joining more staffs is under process," said an official.

The Managing Director said they have plans to spread to divisional and greater district headquarters "immediately" and in all new districts by June, subject to availability of necessary manpower. Offices of the Bank will also be opened in thana levels gradually to reach the benefits of the government's new venture to the grassroots people.

With the expansion of the bank's operations across the country, they will need more funds, expected to be channeled through the government from international donor agencies.

To create self-employment opportunities, the government for the first time in the current budget created a provision of setting up an employment bank and allotted Tk 100 crore as capital for it to begin with.

Of the total allocation, Tk 75 crore will come from the government while nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) contribute the rest Tk 25 crore to make up the initial capital of the new bank.

The Bank has so far got Tk 56.25 crore from the government and Tk 9 crore from NCBs, and the remainder is to reach by June.

On Friday, Karmasangsthan Bank officials rushed to the remote Dohar thana areas to disburse loans to some 200 weavers, fighting for their very survival with their traditional profession.

"Each got Tk 6000 for a single loom, and the highest Tk 12000," said the managing director. Earlier, the weavers used to borrow their running capital from local lenders at high interest and in return pay back huge amounts, keeping a little or no profit margins.