Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has stepped forward with financial support to renowned photographer Chanchal Mahmood who has been undergoing treatment at a hospital after suffering a heart attack. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan handed over a cheque of Tk 5 lakh to the wife of Chanchal Mahmood, widely considered as one of the most accomplished fashion photographers in the country.  As an ardent follower of Bangabandhu’s ideology Chanchal Mahmood always wears black attires since the death of Bangabandhu in protest of the brutal killing.  BGMEA extended the assistance to the ailing photographer on Saturday, the month of mourning for the people of Bangladesh as Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his family members were assassinated on 15th August in 1975. As a trade association BGMEA works for the development of the ready-made garment industry which is making a difference to millions of lives in Bangladesh. READ: BGMEA optimistic about increase in orders Going beyond business promotion, BGMEA said it also believes in responsibility towards society and is actively engaged in activities for the greater good of the society.  Considering the unprecedented crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, BGMEA came forward with its limited resources to extend its support to frontliners and the poor people who were hit hard.  BGMEA donated PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to healthcare providers and also distributed food items among poor people who amid locked down were passing a miserable life. BGMEA donated Tk 6 crore to the Prime Minister’s fund to help the poor affected by Covid fallout.  The trade association also donated 15 German-made high flow nasal cannula with BiPAP and 50 thousand masks to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital to meet the needs of patients.  Besides, BGMEA donated more 10 lacs pieces of face masks to frontliners including healthcare providers, law enforcement agencies, Directorate General of Health Services, customs, sea port, airport, Dhaka North City Coportation, Dhaka South City Corporation, Gazipur City Corporation and Chattogram City Corporation etc. READ: Govt's crucial support helped RMG industry make a turnaround: BGMEA chief BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, Directors Tanvir Ahmed and Abdullah Hil Rakib, Director of Giant Group Sharmeen Hassan Tithi, renowned actress Sadia Islam Mou and fashion designer Biplob Saha were also present on the occasion.

Over the past few years, many people have provided financial aid to charity organisations through bKash especially during Eid and 7 lakh customers have donated Tk20 core to 50 organisations up to now since bKash added the "donation" icon to its app last year. This new feature enhanced the capacity of the charity organisations to collect donations and enabled the customers to donate more while sitting in the comfort of their home amid this pandemic. Read bKash offers up to 40% instant cashback on Eid shopping, iftar, grocery payment bKash has become a partner to many charity organisations by providing a platform to collect donations for disadvantaged people. The mobile financial service's donation feature has bridged the gap between recipient and donor. Read Donate zakat to govt fund: Islamic Foundation Through bKash, one can easily give Zakat or make voluntary donations from any part of the country at any time for the needy. At present, bKash users can donate money to many organisations such as Anjuman Mufidul Islam, Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation, Brac, Center for Zakat Management, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Ek Takay Ahar, Esho Sabai, Bangladesh Liberation War Museum, Mastul Foundation, Mojar School, National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh, Obhizatrik Foundation, Quantum Foundation, Sajida Foundation and Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women-Donation, read a press release. Read PRAN-RFL donates safety equipment to health workers

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday (April 27, 2021) donated Tk 10 crore for providing assistance to the country’s journalists during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Prime Minister has donated Tk 10 crore to Bangladesh Journalists’ Welfare Trust for extending assistance to journalists across the country at this tough time of Covid-19 pandemic,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told UNB. Read OCAB forms new convening committee Also read Govt, WB ink $250 mn deal to help Bangladesh create more jobs

The World Bank and the government of Bangladesh on Thursday signed a $250 million financing agreement to help Bangladesh create more and better jobs, recover faster from the COVID 19 pandemic and build resilience to future crises. The agreements were signed by Economic Relations Division secretary Fatima Yasmin and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon on behalf of the Government and the World Bank, respectively. The Third Programmatic Jobs Development Policy—the last in a series of three credits—focuses on key reforms to create quality and inclusive jobs, while supporting the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Also read: WB okays $250 million for Bangladesh to respond to COVID ... It supports policies to modernize the trade and investment regime; improve social protection for workers; and help youth, women, and vulnerable people access quality jobs. The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which provides concessional financing, has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the poor and vulnerable population,” said Mercy Tembon. Read Bangladesh inks over $1 b deal with World Bank for responding to COVID-19 pandemic He said that this financing supports government policies to protect those most affected by the pandemic and create more and better jobs as Bangladesh continues its journey towards its vision of becoming an upper-middle income country. The pace of job creation has slowed in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation. The Jobs Development Policy Credit series has helped the government protect 5 million jobs, and enabled firms to continue paying their workers’ wages. Also read: World Bank prediction on Bangladesh economy inconsistent ... Losses in jobs and income put livelihoods of several million at risk in both rural and urban areas. Women and youth have been particularly hard hit. It also supported the migrant workers who have had to return to Bangladesh due to the pandemic. The program will also support informal micro-entrepreneurs in recovering by extending micro-finance facilities. “The government has taken fast and proactive measures to protect the poor and vulnerable population and to mitigate the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on formal and informal businesses,” said ERD secretary Fatima Yasmin. Read WB approves $500 mn to help Bangladesh vaccinate 54 mn people The program has already resulted in reducing costs of starting a business; making the skills development sector more labor-market relevant; strengthening labor regulations for improved working conditions; and promoting quality daycare to enable more women to join the labor force, according to the press release. With this program, total World Bank financing under the Programmatic Jobs Development Policy Credit series stands at $750 million. Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over $14 billion. Read WB approves $200 million to help Dhaka support urban poor, migrants

bKash will distribute the cash aid of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10,50,000 low-income group families affected by COVID-19. In a unique initiative of the Prime Minister to stand by families who have lost their livelihood, financial aid of Tk 2,500 will be provided to each of them before the Eid, bKash said in a media release on Wednesday. The money is being disbursed digitally with transparency, swiftness and security to the real victims through verification of NID cards, it said. Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: PM allocates Tk 10.50cr for affected poor Through MFS, the cash aid of Tk 2,500 is going to be distributed to 3.4 million affected families. The 10,50,000 low-income families will receive this cash aid through bKash. During the month of Ramadan and the Eid festival, this money will bring relief to the families and help them greatly in case of emergency, bKash said. Also read: bKash offers 1 pc cash bonus on receiving remittance The beneficiary will not need to bear any Cash Out charge. The government will pay Tk 15 from the total Cash Out charge, while the remaining Tk 31.25 will be borne by bKash. bKash says it has taken all arrangements to enable the family members to Cash Out the money without any hassle. Also read: Stipends from PM’s education fund disbursed through bKash With the far-sighted decision of the government, bKash said, it is becoming possible to disburse financial aid conveniently among the affected families amid such a critical situation. This is a significant step towards building Digital Bangladesh, it said. Last year too, bKash successfully distributed the cash aid of the Prime Minister to nearly 1 million families. Read Financial aid for all mosques, 7,000 more Qawmi Madrasas before Eid: PM

Global ICT infrastructure and smart devices provider Huawei has launched "SME Support Program" with ecosystem partners in the Asia-Pacific to deliver more technical support for economic recovery amid the pandemic. Each eligible Small and medium enterprise (SME) applicant could receive coupons worth up to $3,000 and free professional consulting service including cutting-edge cloud solutions for a variety of industry scenarios including financial service, education, e-commerce, gaming, IoT, application development, and enterprise applications. SMEs that have an account on the Huawei Cloud official website but have never used any paid service could apply for the SME Support Program page and receive consultation from cloud experts. Also read: Huawei posts 3.8% growth in 2020 Applications will be reviewed based on the company's cloud needs and the readiness of workloads for cloud deployment. This programme will continue until December 31 this year. SMEs are the engines of growth and innovation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) region. They account for over 97% of all business and employ over half of the workforce across Apec economies. They contribute significantly to economic growth with their share of total economic output ranging from 40-60% in most economies of the region, according to Apec. Also read: Technology can be engine for human progress: Huawei’s Senior Vice President The pandemic has forced businesses to accelerate their digital transformation and move to the cloud one to three years ahead of schedule. "Huawei Cloud is now working with over 19,000 partners and 1.6 million developers and is committed to strengthening the digital economy to support a sustainable economic recovery. It offers over 220 services in categories such as storage, network, security, big data, AI, and IoT," read a press release. Read Huawei joints with BUET to make ICT talent ecosystem in country

A survey released by Bangladesh-based international development organization Brac on Friday reveals 87 percent of the country’s returnee migrants- amid the COVID-19 pandemic - are still struggling without any source of income in their changed circumstances.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said financial assistance will be provided to all mosques and another 7,000 Qwami Madrasas across the country before the Eid-ul Fitr.