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Two new state-owned companies yesterday got go-ahead from the cabinet — one will provide loans to local digital businesses and the other will be a joint venture to manufacture electronic equipment, especially smart prepaid meters.
Startup Bangladesh Company Ltd to be established with a paid-up capital of Tk 500 crore will extend the loans to encourage innovative ventures, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told journalists after a meeting.
“Entrepreneurs involved in digital business do not get loans from banks as they cannot make any deposit as collateral. The government will provide loans to those companies.”
Startup Bangladesh will initially provide Tk 10 lakh as seed money to each of about 200 local startups.
The government has targeted to set the balls rolling for about 1,000 startups.
Some 36 employees will be appointed for the company that will have a government-appointed board led by the secretary to the ICT division, according to the company proposals.
The ICT division took up the initiative to set up this company under its Innovation Design and Entrepreneur Academy to nurture startups, said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
The cabinet secretary said a huge amount of electronic equipment would be needed in the coming days, for which Bangladesh Power Equipment Manufacturing Company Ltd would be established.
The company will have Tk 4 crore as authorised capital and Tk 3.60 crore as paid-up capital, he said.
State-owned Rural Power Company Ltd will own 51 percent of Bangladesh Power while the rest 49 percent will belong to Shenzhen Star Instrument Co, said Alam.
There will be a five-member board, three of whom will come from Rural Power, including the CEO, and the remaining two directors will be appointed from Shenzhen Star.
“After meeting the local demand, we also can export smart meters from this company,” said the cabinet secretary. He, however, could not confirm when this company would take shape.
(TDS)
