Different banks on Wednesday distributed sanction letters and cheques worth Tk 2.70 crore to 27 agriculture and SME entrepreneurs at a town hall meeting in Pabna under Bangladesh Bank's refinancing schemes.

The initiatives include a Tk 10,000 crore scheme to ensure national food security and create employment, along with a Tk 3,000 crore scheme to establish an agriculture-based regional hub in Northern Bangladesh.

Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, attended the event as the chief guest. Special guests included Arief Hossain Khan, Executive Director and Spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank; Muhommad Badiuzzaman Dider, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank (Rajshahi Office); Liton Dhali, Additional District Magistrate of Pabna; Mohammad Fazlul Karim, Deputy Managing Director of Agrani Bank PLC; and Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid, Director of the Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Abu Sayed Md. Idris, Deputy Managing Director of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, presided over the meeting.

The Pabna branches of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC and the regional office of Agrani Bank PLC served as the lead banks for coordinating the program.

The meeting drew officials and branch managers from scheduled banks in Pabna, over 300 agriculture and SME entrepreneurs, and representatives from the Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Department of Agricultural Extension, the Department of Livestock Services, the Department of Fisheries, BADC, the Bangladesh Rural Development Board, and the Department of Youth Development, according to a press release.