BSCL :: Bangladesh SME Corporation Limited.

About

Bangladesh SME Corporation Ltd. (BSCL) is an alternative finance company, focusing on bringing-to-market innovative finance & technology to strengthen micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. BSCL maintains an extensive database of MSMEs in Bangladesh by surveying and providing financial support, predictive analytics and value added services to entrepreneurs. This is done through facilitation of financing from formal and informal channels.

BSCL was founded on the principal of inclusive growth through the private sector by a group of Wall Street veterans and local Bangladeshi partners. The BSCL team undertook extensive research and survey to identify the gaps in MSME financing in the country as well as the problems with available forms of financing. The absence of a robust risk assessment and monitoring infrastructure has made it difficult to appropriately gauge the risk of MSME lending resulting in high interest rates, stringent collateral or guarantor requirements as well as a high rate of non-performing loans. One size fits all type of financing approach, untailored to meet the distinct requirements of the diverse range of sectors and sizes of MSMEs in the country, conditions attached to funds available through refinancing, makes it difficult to find a match in terms of a MSME client. On the other hand, MSMEs are largely at a stage where they require assistance/capacity building with obtaining and maintaining proper regulatory compliance, financial management and planning, and audit. These findings resulted in the development of our software based management information system which has features built in to automatically assess and monitor for the risk of our SME client based on regular transactions, as well as perform annual audit function on behalf of the client. The automation of risk assessment and monitoring translates into lower cost and therefore lower interest and elimination of collateral or guarantor requirement.

What We Do

Research and Advocacy

BSCL is heavily involved in conducting research to find the gaps in MSME financing in the country as well as the problems with the existing forms of financing. Our advocacy and facilitation services are tailored to directly impact and meet the diverse financing requirement of the MSMEs out there.

i-SME Services

BSCL is bringing to market the iSME Platform, which combines intelligent automation with a service delivery network made up of experienced field officers. This Platform will identify borrowers with high repayment probability; act as a translator/“match-maker” between institutions & MSMEs; and provide the “last mile” service delivery network needed to ensure strong monitoring.

The fully-automated platform provides a portfolio of critical services to MSMEs. Equipped with tablets connected to the i-SME Cloud, experienced field officers will engage with MSMEs to access financial and operational data. This data is relayed to the i-SME servers where the information is automatically processed to produce organized financials, credit evaluation reports, complete loan application packets, bank account opening applications, credit memoranda and other reports as per the needs of partner Banks.

Consultancy and Corporate Advisory Services

BSCL provides consultancy, business process planning, management advice, production optimization and a host of other services with the primary goal of allowing its clients and partner organizations to achieve exponential growth and adopt a sustainable and successful business model.

Partners

theSTEPs.org

The Social Transformation Enabling Projects & Organizations (theSTEPs.org) is an Association of highly motivated entrepreneurs and organizations (for profit, not-for-profit, public, private) working collectively to bring about positive social change.

theSTEPs.org takes “big” socially transformative ideas and accelerates their realization by harnessing the power of technology, finance and collective experience. The Association nurtures projects locally but adapts the knowledge gained and platforms built to engineer social impact globally. It is a knowledge focused organization, looking to take field projects data and engage with academics and researchers to conduct analysis – the results are then used to refine the field approach.

STEP 1: Idea Generation
Select transformative ideas to solve pressing problems in eduction, health, environment, financial access
STEP 2: Activate the Collective
Identify a group of social entrepreneurs and their organizations who have the requisite skill sets, domain expertise, and infrastructure to execute
STEP 3: Build Enabling Platforms
Use the collective strength in analysis, technology and finance to create platforms that enable realization of the idea
STEP 4: Implementation
Harness outreach and field presence capacity to implement the platform on the ground
STEP 5: Impact Measurement
Measure impact to tune approach, solution or service delivery mechanism
STEP 6: Dissemination
Disseminate solution across sectors and geographies

DataSoft Systems Bangladesh Limited

DataSoft (DSFT) is a Top-3 software company in Bangladesh. With 17-years of operational track record, the company has 300 IT professionals and boasts management with deep domain expertise. Established in 1999, it is a CMMI Level 5 certified (joining an elite group of just 400 leading companies worldwide) and an award winning software & digital automation platform builder in Bangladesh.

In addition, DSFT has received numerous global recognition awards, including the Century International Quality ERA Award in the Gold category in Geneva. It is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company and the first IT company in Bangladesh to become a “Super Brand”.

Under the MSME sector, DSFT’s Microfin360 software is rapidly gaining market share in the microfinance institution (MFI) market. The Microfin360 platform is essentially MFI in a Box combining a management information system, accounting information system and a compliance solution. DSFT is currently implementing Microfin360 across more than 3,000 branches across the nation and this number is expected to grow at a rapid clip over the coming years.

Enterprise Development Co. Limited

Enterprise Development Co. Limited (“EDCL”) established in 2005, is an alternative finance facilitation company with rural coverage & field agents.

Key attribute: Financing arranger and implementer of the Zero Waste Model, an award winning program. The ZWM addresses a variety of impact criteria, and can be useful across many South Asian and African countries. The mini-dairies cum bio digesters address problems such as malnutrition, unemployment, and lack of access to electricity as well as the environmental degradation caused by Bangladesh’s rapid industrialization. The core vision of EDCL is providing access to finance to family units in the fields of renewable energy, food security and provide sustainability training.

EDCL has arranged financing for 3,000+ enterprises nationwide with a 97% recovery rate. The company has also implemented 2,000+ ZWM projects nationwide, increasing sustainable energy generation and reducing household smoke which is responsible for 10% of global death (WHO).