The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today approved a $400 million loan to Bangladesh to advance reforms in domestic resource mobilisation, improve efficiency and productivity of public spending.

The funding will also help small businesses, especially women-led businesses to access low-cost innovative bank financing, the ADB said in a statement.

This loan is ADB's second subprogram of the Sustainable Economic Recovery Program, which was launched in October 2021 to support economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

"This subprogram enables Bangladesh to enhance revenues, promote efficiency and transparency in public spending and public procurement, deepen the reforms of state-owned enterprises, and help small businesses and microentrepreneurs to access low-interest affordable credits from the banking sector," said ADB Principal Public Management Economist for South Asia Aminur Rahman.

The subprogram, with a strong focus on gender, climate change, and digitisation, enables the government to strengthen its efforts to support income generation for the poor and vulnerable, Rahman said.