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A 30-month long project, ‘Sarathi—progress through financial inclusion’, has been launched on Thursday aiming to bring readymade garment workers under the formal banking services.
State Minister for Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Finance MA Mannan launched the project funded by Swisscontact and Metlife Foundation at an event held in the city.
Md Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, chairman of Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Anirban Bhowmik, country director of Swisscontact Bangladesh, Nurul Islam, chairman of Metlife Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar and Mansoor Ahmed, first vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), among others, were present at the launching ceremony.
About 4.5 million workers are employed in the country’s RMG sector and despite their significant contribution to the national economy, a large majority of the workers remain outside the purview of the formal banking sector with limited or no access to financial services, said Mr Bhowmik.
The project is implemented in partnership with major commercial banking that will design and provide customised financial products through their mobile and agent banking channels, he said.
The project aims to bring at least 30 RMG factories onboard to disburse their workers’ wages through bank account and improve their basic financial literacy on topics such as how to use bank accounts and cards, benefits of saving products, gaining control and privacy over earnings, how to plan and pay for recurring expenses and gaining access to saving and credit.