Trade fairs should be at district, upazila levels: Chief Adviser
Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said trade fairs should be organised at district and upazila levels, paving the way for youths to become entrepreneurs.
He made the remarks while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the month-long Dhaka International Trade Fair 2025 in Purbachal.
The Chief Adviser said to promote the power of the youth to become entrepreneurs through fairs, future trade fairs should be held at district and upazila levels and the final fair will be held centrally in Dhaka.
He said the government should bear all the expenses to this end.
"We will create opportunities for the youth. Preparations for the fair will continue throughout the year in districts and upazilas. From there, those who will participate in the fairs will be selected for the final stage. At the Dhaka fair, one will learn, understand and gain knowledge by seeing and hearing one another," he said
Mentioning that Bangladesh is a country of immense potential with around 17 crore people and most of them are the youth, he said: "Many countries have no such power but we have. That is why I am giving emphasis on exploring the power of youth and creating scopes for them."
Human means entrepreneurs, not workers, while the path of humans is to create from their own minds, he added.
Stressing the need for keeping a designated place for the youth below 25 years at the trade fair, Prof Yunus said the youth do huge tasks but they have no recognition.
"They will show the path to the nation as well as the world. They will not only become the best of Bangladesh but many of them will be best in the world," he said.
Stating that the country's youth are doing many promising businesses, the chief adviser said many young people are doing well in various sectors, including agriculture, handicrafts, cottage industries and ICT.
They are doing international business - they are creating and selling software from home, so 3 to 4 youths could be identified by arranging competition at upazila levels and they could be listed for participation at central fair in Dhaka, he said.
"The youths from all over the country will come in groups. They will come from abroad. They will get encouragement from seeing each other at the trade fair in Dhaka," Prof Yunus said.
He said others will learn from them and come forward to invest, while investors will come here to know and understand - which business will be good for them.
Stating that lack of money is not a barrier to becoming an entrepreneur, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said money is not a problem. "If you have intelligence, you can earn money."
Noting that the young ladies are running good businesses along with boys, Dr Yunus said, there are many young women who do numerous jobs.
"They sell saris staying home. Housewives, mothers of four-five children, do business - they cook and deliver food staying home. When an order is placed, they cook and deliver exactly those items. Those who do such business with excellent intelligence should highlight their work," he said.
The chief adviser stressed innovating new products and increasing export baskets through the collective efforts of all.
He said the government is working to further strengthen service- providing organisations to improve the quality of export products, increase the capacity of institutions and ensure speedy service.
Prof Yunus declared furniture as the product of the year and asked the fair authorities to announce the entrepreneur of the year.
Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin, acting Commerce Secretary Abdur Rahim Khan, Vice-Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Md Anwar Hossain, among others, spoke at the inaugural ceremony.
The Ministry of Commerce and EPB are jointly organising the trade fair.
"July Chattar" and "Chhatrish Chattar" were created at the fair venue in honour of the sacrifices of students in the anti-discrimination student movement.
Like before, the fair will remain open from 10.00 am to 9.00 pm (until 10.00 pm on weekends) throughout the month.
Source: BSS
