BRAC Bank Limited began with the vision to provide banking solutions to the ‘unbanked’ Small and Medium Entrepreneurs. Taking inspiration from its parent organization BRAC, the largest NGO in the world, BRAC Bank introduced small-ticket loans to the small and medium enterprises (SME), to specifically bring the grassroots entrepreneurs under the umbrella of formal banking service. Approximately half of BRAC Bank’s lending portfolio comprises of small and medium enterprises – popularly known as the ‘SME’.
In 2001 BRAC Bank did not start its journey like any other conventional bank. The visionaries who led the bank realized that the previously neglected Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector plays significant role in generating growth and creating employment in the country. Over the past few decades, traditional banks were reluctant to invest in this sector. At a time when it was almost impossible for the SME entrepreneurs to get financing from the banking sector in Bangladesh, BRAC Bank stepped forward and came to finance these unbanked SME entrepreneurs.