Dhaka, Tuesday, September 24, 2024: BRAC Bank has recently been honoured with three
prestigious awards from the SME Finance Forum of the World Bank Group, including
two top accolades in SME product innovation.
The awards received are Product Innovation of the Year – Best Commercial Bank in
Platinum Award (Global Category), Product Innovation of the Year – Best Commercial
Bank in Asia in Platinum Award (Asia Category) and Best Financier for Women
Entrepreneurs in Asia in Silver Award (Asia Category).
Syed Abdul Momen, Deputy Managing Director and Head of SME Banking at BRAC
Bank, accepted the awards from Qamar Saleem, Head of the SME Finance Forum,
during the Global SME Finance Forum annual conference held in São Paulo, Brazil, on
September 18, 2024. This conference gathered executives from leading financial
institutions, fintechs, development banks, and SME experts to discuss AI’s
transformative role in accelerating digital and sustainable trends in SME finance.
Upon receiving the awards, Syed Abdul Momen stated, “BRAC Bank has always been
at the forefront of innovation in the banking industry. Our customer-centric and unique
SME products such as– Shabolombi, Druti, Digital Loan- Shafollo & Jibika – are
bringing unbanked micro and small entrepreneurs into the formal banking system,
driving large-scale financial inclusion and catalyzing national progress.”
“We are honoured to receive this prestigious award from the SME Finance Forum
managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). This achievement is a
testament to our commitment to product innovation, supporting women entrepreneurs,
and financing grassroots SMEs,” he added.
Organized by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the SME Finance
Forum, and endorsed by the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI),
the Global SME Finance Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of financial
institutions and fintech companies in delivering exceptional products and services to
their SME clients.
These awards recognize institutions that have successfully launched innovative
products or services for SME clients, achieved impressive results in expanding finance
to SMEs, demonstrated specific prowess in serving women-owned SMEs and shown
innovation in responsible financial services.