18,444 young entrepreneurs apply for BB's 'Udyog' funding from 8 districts
According to the press release, the programme's activities will begin in all upazilas of the remaining 56 districts from 1 November, 2026.
A total of 18,444 applications have been submitted from 64 upazilas in eight districts in the initial phase of Bangladesh Bank's "Udyog (UDYOG): Upazila-Based Young Entrepreneur Search, Identification and Financing Programme," which aims to find promising young entrepreneurs at the upazila level, select genuine entrepreneurs and create employment through financing.
The information was disclosed in a press release issued by Bangladesh Bank.
According to the press release, the programme's activities will begin in all upazilas of the remaining 56 districts from 1 November, 2026.
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In the programme's Activation Phase, applications were accepted in all upazilas of eight districts, one from each of the eight divisions: Manikganj, Feni, Naogaon, Jhenaidah, Bhola, Habiganj, Rangpur and Netrokona. Young entrepreneurs submitted their applications from 16 September to 15 October, 2026, at scheduled bank branches located in the respective upazilas.
According to preliminary data, the district-wise number of applications is: 1,343 in Manikganj, 1,261 in Feni, 2,456 in Naogaon, 2,191 in Jhenaidah, 1,545 in Bhola, 1,552 in Habiganj, 2,745 in Rangpur and 5,351 in Netrokona.
Building on this, interested young entrepreneurs in all upazilas of the remaining 56 districts can submit the prescribed application form, duly filled out, to any scheduled bank branch in their respective upazila from 1-30 November, 2026. The form can be downloaded from Bangladesh Bank's website, the SME portal and the websites of the scheduled banks.
The programme's policy guidelines were issued on 13 September, 2026, through SMESPD Circular No 05. The guidelines are available on Bangladesh Bank's website (www.bb.org.bd) and the SME portal (www.bb.org.bd/smespd_portal).
Bangladesh Bank has called for the active cooperation of all concerned for the successful implementation of the programme, in order to increase young entrepreneurs' participation in the country's economic development, job creation and the promotion of innovative ventures.
