86% of economic units facing capital crisis, 34% denied loans: BBS census

Around 86% of the country's economic units (establishments engaged in economic activities) are facing capital challenges, with 34% not getting easy loans, according to the latest Economic Census 2024, conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Planning and Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud termed the situation unfortunate, stating, "Thousands of crores of taka have been looted from banks, yet entrepreneurs in villages and cities are unable to run their businesses properly for lack of funding."

Findings of the 4th Economic Census, unveiled at the BBS building today, revealed that there are currently 1.18 crore economic units in the country. Of these, 62.88 lakh units are permanent, 5.7 lakh are temporary, and 50 lakh units are family-based.

The report highlighted the growing significance of rural areas, as most economic units are based in villages. Around 70.27% of the country's operational economic units are located in rural areas, while 29.73% are in urban areas.

Providing details of the report, the census project's sub-project Director Md Mizanur Rahman said, "We aimed to identify the challenges faced by economic units. Out of the total 11,877,364 units, 7,548,147 units reported their problems."

"The most common issues reported were: unavailability of capital (86%), difficulty in accessing loans (34.41%), infrastructural problems (19%), and an increase in production costs (9.77%)," he said.

Wahiduddin Mahmud, who addressed the event as chief guest, said, "This report highlights the level of inequality in Bangladesh. There are more entrepreneurs in villages than in cities, yet they struggle to secure financing. Meanwhile, in our cities, some companies received large amounts of funds, and numerous banks emerged overnight, but no one knows where that money went."

Referring to the Beximco Group, he said, "The companies of this wealthy industrial group are now shutting down, with workers still protesting for their due salaries. Their financial records show large bank loans, but there is no trace of where the money went."

"Meanwhile, ordinary entrepreneurs lack capital and do not have access to easy loans. This is the main problem of our economy. In countries like those in Africa, entrepreneurs are scarce. But in Bangladesh, despite having many entrepreneurs, they are not receiving adequate support," the adviser said.

The report states that the number of economic households has risen to 5,012,529 in 2024, up from 2,821,571 in 2013, reflecting a 77.65% growth.

However, the share of female employees in economic units has declined to 6.4% in 2024 from 7.21% in 2013.

The report also highlights a shift from manufacturing to services over the past decade, with manufacturing now accounting for 8.77% of the total 1.18 crore economic units, while service-related units make up 91.23%.