My eyes were stuck to the news that the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan, while launching a 100-Dollar Laptop, on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, Tunisia, said “the invention is an impressive technical achievement. The project promises to provide flexible technology that can be used in any place, even in the desert without energy supply”. It is also reported that the U.N. is backing the project even with financial support thinking that it could help to promote education in the Third World. A professor and his team mates of MIT (USA) have claimed the credit for the project and the invention (!).

At the very outset, let me state certain hard facts, which I believe will largely explain the title of today’s write-up. Long 31 years ago, in 1975, I invented the Free-play Radio technology and demonstrated a working model in a jam-packed press conference on 23 July 1975 in Dhaka.

I’ve just posted up several recent news stories about financing for SME development. Most of these came from the Business in Development Network, which promotes poverty reduction through entrepreneurship in developing countries. The group maintains a great newsroom for those interested in similar articles.

Here’s what’s happening this week:

Bangladesh: Banks urged to support SMEs
The numerable packages in saving schemes, monthly deposit, loan schemes etc. have played a role to close the gap between bank and the cross-section of people. Still it is noticed that there has not been such banking packages to support the big client group belonging to small and medium enterprises.