10-day BSCIC entrepreneurs fair begins in Rajshahi

Desk Report: A 10-day BSCIC Entrepreneurs Fair-2025 began in Rajshahi on Monday with a call to boost the economic condition of the region through increased promotion of its industrial sector.

District office of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) is hosting the fair on the Lalon Open Stage adjacent to the bank of the river Padma.

A spectrum of locally produced industrial goods, including leather products, jute-made products, processed agricultural products, electrical and electronic goods, clothes, design and fashion wares and other products are being displayed at 70 stalls set up at the fair.

Commissioner of Rajshahi division Dr ANM Bazlur Rashid opened the fair through balloons and festoons and addressed the opening ceremony as the chief guest.

With Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi Afia Akhter in the chair, the inaugural ceremony was addressed, among others, by Deputy Inspector General of Police Dr Muhammad Shahjahan, Superintendent of Police Naimul Hassan, BSCIC Regional Director Zafar Bayazid and its Deputy General Manager Rafiqul Islam.

Dr ANM Bazlur Rashid, who is also Administrator of Rajshahi City Corporation, said the present interim government has been ensuring a business-friendly atmosphere to encourage local entrepreneurs to revitalize the sector.

Time-fitting measures are being taken to revive the region's industrial sector, including the cottage industries as these play a vital role in economic development.

He said that handlooms and cottage goods symbolised the true craftsmanship of the Bangladeshi artisans.

Various artisan communities are scattered throughout the country, communities consisting of people who solely depend on their crafts as a primary source of income.

Dr Bazlur Rashid underscored the need for hosting more fairs of such types to protect the handicrafts goods from diminishing further.

In his remarks, Dr Muhammad Shahjahan said that additional investment in this sector is very important to bolster the economic condition of both urban and rural areas and to rid the society from the vicious circle of poverty.

He underscored the need for organizing more such types of fair to protect the handicrafts goods from further diminishing.

BSCIC Regional Director Zafar Bayazid told the meeting that the fair had been organised in order to increase the visibility of handloom and cottage industrial goods through preserving and encouraging the practices of local artisans.

The fair will remain open from 10.00 am to 9.00 pm every day.

BB/SAM//