Tulips — the brightly coloured flowers usually associated with the Netherlands — are now growing in Tetulia upazila of Panchagarh district, boosting tourism prospects and local economy. Seeing the success of a pilot scheme, this year, tulips are being grown on a large tract of land in Darjipara of Tetulia. Tulips grown in the Panchagarh district are now being sold in Dhaka due to high demands. Last year, eight women earned Tk 65,000 each by growing tulips on their land — on a pilot basis — and this year, 20 women are growing the beautiful flowers on two acres of land considering the prospects. Also read: Danish ambassador, IFAD country director visit tulip gardens in Panchagarh This year, they are expecting to sell tulips worth Tk one crore. Financed by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Echo Social Development Organisation (ESDO) and Rural Microenterprise Transformation Project (MRTP) undertook the pilot project with the help of rural women. They have created a new prospect for livelihood.

The European Union (EU) and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Thursday signed a grant agreement to implement a new project for extreme poverty reduction. PKSF Managing Director Nomita Halder and Maurizio Cian, head of cooperation of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh, inked the agreement worth €22.81 million for the "Pathways to Prosperity for Extremely Poor People (PPEPP)-European Union" Project. The PPEPP-EU Project will support 215,000 most vulnerable, extremely poor households (about 0.86 million people) in 145 unions of 12 districts where poverty rates are higher than the national average. The specific objective of the project is to help the target people to rise out of extreme poverty and make significant progress along a pathway towards prosperity. The project will work in the flood-prone river basin area of the northwestern region (Rangpur, Kurigram, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari and Gaibandha), cyclone and saline-prone southwestern region (Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Patuakhali and Bhola), and northeast haor region (Kishoreganj) and some ethnic minority clusters in the north. PPEPP-EU will work around livelihoods and enterprise development, nutrition and primary healthcare, access to services through community mobilisation, disability inclusion, climate resilience building and women empowerment. Target groups will include women-headed households, single mothers, elderlies, households with child labour, persons with disabilities, people of the third gender and intersectional groups such as ethnic minorities.  Read more: PKSF launches $200mn project to transform rural microenterprise

Eminent economist, chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad emphasized  speaking Bengali correctly as the language has a long history and heritage. He called for preserving the elements of heritage at local and regional level for the future generation. The Bengali language should be practiced all the year, not in a specific month of the year as it is a constitutional right of the people, Kholiquzzaman said. READ: Sajeeb Wazed highlights Bangabandhu's heroic role in language movement He came up with remarks while addressing as the chief guest at a webinar titled ‘70 Years of   Language Movement & International mother language day-2022’ organized by Dhaka School of Economics on Monday. He discussed the significance of the language movement in 1952 to the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971. He argued for the use of Bengali language in judicial proceedings and medical sector of the country and international negotiation. The seminar was presided over by Entrepreneurial expert and Macroeconomic specialist Professor Dr.Muhammad Mahboob Ali. He praised the role of the father of the nation Bangabandhu in the language movement and creation of Bangladesh. Among others assistant professors of Dhaka School of Economics Rehana Parvin,Sara Tasneem, Afia Akter and Mohammad Aman Ullah Aman, spoke at the webinar.

Dr Nomita Halder, a former Secretary, has been appointed as the 11th Managing Director of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF).  Currently, she is holding the position of a Professorial Fellow at North South University, said PKSF on Thursday.  Born in the coastal area of Bagerhat, Dr Halder served as a public servant for long 30 years.  She has the experience of working in the local administration right up to a top position in the central government both at policy and implementation levels.  In 2014, she was appointed as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. Dr Nomita Halder graduated in Agriculture from  Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.  She did an MA in Development Administration from Australian National University.  And later, she did her PhD from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.  As the Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, she initiated some stern measures regarding  migration and human trafficking.  In 2018, she retired from public service. She is a result-driven and career-oriented professional with a target for excellence. She is keen to work with vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized poor communities.  At present, she holds the position of an Honorary Member of National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government on Monday signed agreements for $50 million in additional loan to help restore the economic activities of microenterprises in Bangladesh, which have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $50 million loan to help restore the economic activities of microenterprises in Bangladesh, which have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.   The loan will scale up the ongoing Microenterprise Development Project, approved by ADB in 2018 to provide a $50 million credit line to Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), a government development finance and capacity building organisation.   Under the ongoing project, the PKSF, through its 77 partner organisations, has so far provided loans to 39,580 microenterprises, generating 91,430 jobs in rural areas.   The new credit line to the PKSF will provide loans to at least an additional 30,000 microenterprises affected by COVID-19, 70 percent of which are women-led. The project will strengthen the capacity of 120 partner microfinance institutions in microenterprise lending, such as credit appraisal, pricing, and financial and portfolio management and monitoring.   It will expand the application of the pilot mobile-based microenterprise financing application to an additional 10,000 borrowers, which facilitates loan applications, disbursement, and collection. The project will identify three additional microenterprise products for expansion and support microenterprise cluster development.   ADB Principal Country Specialist for Bangladesh Jyotsana Varma said the additional financing will supplement the ongoing project by injecting liquidity in the rural economy by providing cheaper financing to microenterprises, helping them continue their business and retain their employees, especially women entrepreneurs who have been heavily hit by the pandemic.   He said that the project will increase access to financing from microfinance institutions and further contribute to the growth of microenterprises in the country.

Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), an apex development agency of the country, has floated a new project titled ‘Rural Microenterprise Transformation Project (RMTP)’ as a major boost to the Bangladesh’s microenterprise sector.