MetLife Foundation and Swisscontact Bangladesh yesterday joined hands to launch a financial inclusion programme under which the garment workers will be able to get affordable loans and microinsurance.

The 24-month project 'Sarathi- Improving Financial Health' is aimed at improving financial health for the garment workers in Bangladesh, Swisscontact said in a statement.

The programme will focus on providing at least 200,000 ready-made garment factory workers, of which 65 per cent will be women, with a wider range of financial health solutions, including savings, affordable loans and micro-insurance.

Swisscontact will also partner with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association (BKMEA) and several leading brands to upskill more than 1,600 women workers to place them in more advanced jobs and support them in starting their own small businesses.

Planning Minister MA Mannan launched the programme at an event at the Radisson hotel in Dhaka.

"The Sarathi project has taken a massive target to improve the financial health of the RMG workers. While their goal is ambitious, I feel they have the ability to pull this off," said Mannan.

Prajna Paramita Saha, additional director of the financial inclusion division at Bangladesh Bank; Krishna Thacker, assistant vice president of MetLife Foundation; Ala Ahmed, CEO of MetLife Bangladesh; Manish Pandey, director for South Asia at Swisscontact; and Mujibul Hasan, country director of Swisscontact Bangladesh, also spoke.