The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday approved a $250 million policy-based loan to support Bangladesh's economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first subprogramme of the programmatic $500 million Sustainable Economic Recovery Programme. The objective of the Sustainable Economic Recovery Programme is to facilitate rapid and sustainable recovery from the pandemic, generate employment, and expand economic activities for micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses. This will be pursued through policy reforms that will create fiscal space to enhance public expenditure and support the recovery and growth of cottage, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (CMSMEs). The loan will support the government's planned public investment in education, health, social protection, and infrastructure and help to stimulate economic activities and economic recovery. It is also aligned with the core objectives of the country's Eighth Five-Year Plan and supports the aspiration of Bangladesh to become an upper-middle-income country by 2031. Read: ADB unveils new partnership strategy for Bangladesh "The fiscal space created under the programme will allow the government to prioritise expenditures and upscale investment in social and economic infrastructure," said ADB Principal Financial Management Specialist Srinivasan Janardanam. "The programme is expected to increase the efficiency in public investment management and create a favourable environment for access to credit, particularly for the poor and vulnerable."