Bangladesh Bank has disbursed less than 20% of its 60,000 crore taka economic stimulus package five months after its announcement, raising questions about the central bank’s ability to revive investment in a slowing economy.
As of October 15, only 11,959.82 crore taka had reached borrowers, while another 2,559.97 crore taka remained under processing, according to data released by the central bank on Sunday.
That leaves more than 48,000 crore taka of the headline package yet to be disbursed.
The figures, published for the first time since the package was announced in May, reveal sharp disparities across its 15 schemes. Some have exhausted their allocations. Others have barely begun.
Three have not disbursed a single taka or even recorded funds under processing.
The sluggish rollout comes as private investment remains weak and businesses struggle with high borrowing costs, inflation and energy shortages.
Private-sector credit growth fell to just 4.75% in August, reflecting subdued borrowing demand and limited business expansion.
The World Bank's October economic update projected Bangladesh's GDP growth at 3.4% in both FY2026 and FY2027, citing weak investment, persistent inflation, energy constraints and vulnerabilities in the financial sector.
The largest component, a 20,000 crore taka scheme to revive closed industrial and service-sector businesses, has disbursed just 560.93 crore taka.
That is barely 2.8% of its allocation. Another 929.50 crore taka is under processing.
The agriculture and rural food security scheme has performed even worse, releasing only 292.90 crore taka against its 10,000 crore taka allocation, or approximately 2.9%.
The North Bengal agriculture-based economic centre scheme has disbursed just 48.67 crore taka out of 3,000 crore taka.
The 5,000 crore taka CMSME working capital refinancing fund has released 907.73 crore taka, or about 18.2%.
The picture is markedly different for a handful of schemes.
The pre-shipment credit refinancing scheme has disbursed 6,917 crore taka against its 5,000 crore taka allocation, exceeding the original allocation by nearly 38%.
The cottage and micro-enterprise special scheme has disbursed its entire 2,500 crore taka allocation.
The 500 crore taka Creative Economy Scheme has also been fully disbursed. But several other programmes remain stalled.
The 1,000 crore taka unemployed youth employment scheme has yet to disburse any funds, although its full allocation is under processing.
The green factory and green industries scheme has recorded no disbursement, with 527.47 crore taka under processing.
The leather goods and footwear export scheme has also released nothing, despite 98 crore taka being processed.
Three other schemes—export diversification, rural economic activities, and frozen shrimp and other fish exports—have recorded neither disbursements nor funds under processing.
Together, they account for 6,000 crore taka in allocations.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and Executive Director Arif Hossain Khan acknowledged the slow initial progress but said implementation would accelerate.
“Now, the pace is expected to pick up, and you will see much faster progress over the next three months,” he told Daily Waadaa.
He said much of the initial period had been spent establishing the necessary procedures for the schemes.
“Our main concern is whether the money has actually reached the end customers,” Arif said.
He added that Bangladesh Bank could expand the package if the first phase proved successful, with additional financing determined by demand and implementation progress.
Announced in May, the 60,000 crore taka package comprises 41,000 crore taka in refinancing facilities and another 19,000 crore taka from Bangladesh Bank's own resources, backed by a government guarantee.
The schemes offer loans at 7% interest to support struggling factories, agriculture, cottage and micro-enterprises, small and medium businesses, exporters and other targeted sectors.
The objective is to make financing more affordable, restart shuttered businesses and encourage fresh investment.
But the central bank's own figures show that disbursement has been heavily concentrated in a few programmes, while several major schemes have barely moved.
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