BRAC Bank organised an entrepreneur conference in Gazipur to promote its SME Digital Loan programme ‘Shafollo’, bringing together more than 200 small and medium business owners, the bank said.
The event focused on showcasing Bangladesh’s first fully digital SME loan programme and raising awareness about paperless and fast-access financing for small traders and retail shopkeepers.
The programme was organised with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the bank.
A live demonstration was held during the event, showing a ‘Shafollo’ loan being processed and credited to a customer’s account in real time.
BRAC Bank said the demonstration highlighted the speed and transparency of the digital lending process, where eligible borrowers can receive loans within minutes of application.
Syed Abdul Momen, additional managing director and head of SME Banking at BRAC Bank, said financial inclusion and digital transformation remain core priorities for the bank’s SME strategy.
Senior officials from the bank’s SME Division attended the programme, alongside local entrepreneurs, including a distributor of Unilever Bangladesh based in Gazipur.
BRAC Bank said feedback from participating entrepreneurs would be used to improve customer experience and refine the digital loan journey.
Under the ‘Shafollo’ programme, the bank offers collateral-free SME loans ranging from Tk10,000 to Tk5 lakh with minimal documentation.
The loans use AI-based credit scoring for digital eligibility assessment, with approved funds disbursed directly to borrowers’ accounts through a fully digitised process, the bank said.
