Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said that there is no alternative to micro-credit to alleviate poverty in rural areas of the country.

Employment creation and empowerment of women is being ensured through micro-credit, he said.

Kamal was speaking at a programme marking the laying of foundation stone of Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) building at the GTCL building auditorium in Agargaon on Thursday.

Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division Sheikh Mohammad Saleem Ullah and Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department Mohammad Shamim Akter were also present.

Laxman Chandra Debnath, executive director MRA and Executive Vice president of MRA Fasiullah, among others, spoke at the function.

Joining the programme virtually the finance minister said, "Microfinance institutions are not only alleviating poverty, but also advancing various social development works."

The project of MRA building was approved by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2016. But the start of its construction has been delayed due to various bureaucratic red tapes.

The 16-storied MRA building is being constructed at a cost of Tk 58.23 crore on 10 katha land in Agargaon administrative area of the capital.

Currently, the microcredit regulatory authority has brought about 3.5 crore people under micro-credit facilities through around 21,000 branches of different Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) across the country.

The annual turnover of this sector is around Tk1.60 trillion. The loan recovery rate is 98 per cent of which 91 per cent of the borrowers are women, MRA sources said.