JBS Vol 14. Num 1. 2012 - Supportive Agencies and Their Support for Small Enterprises in Bangladesh: An Exploration

The objective of the study was to explore the problems that supportive agencies and small entrepreneurs encounter in entrepreneurship development. To this end, a mail questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected set of 40 officers of the supportive agencies and an interview schedule was administered to 400 small entrepreneurs. The findings of the study revealed that lack of entrepreneurs' education, business knowledge, and cooperation, as well as their tendency to repay loans late and their diversion of funds were, among others, the major problems for the supportive agencies. The main problems for which the entrepreneurs could not run their enterprises smoothly included shortage of capital, lack of business experience, unskilled employees, weak infrastructures (road, drainage, electricity, gas, and water), high priced raw materials and finished goods, and tight credit policy. Several recommendations are offered which may be considered by the supportive agencies and the entrepreneurs to overcome their problems.