HSBC
As Bangladesh’s vast battalions of small and medium-sized businesses carry their country up the development scale from poverty to middle income, François de Maricourt and his team at HSBC Bangladesh have positioned to helping them on that journey.
HSBC helps connect SMEs with buyers and suppliers both within Bangladesh or through the bank’s global trade network. Technology is key, and this year, HSBC launched its well-received ‘Trade Transaction Tracker,’ a smartphone app that offers customers real-time tracking of their deals, from credits, collections and payments down to locating and tracking shipments en route.
Another new product, ‘Trade Up,’ provides exporting SMEs with financing of up Tk20 million ($250,000) to match trade cycles. De Maricourt says the key to HSBC’s SME efforts is to keep trade flows simple, smooth and sound, designed to meet the typical business dynamic of Bangladeshi SMEs.
It also helps that HSBC, which facilitates about 8% of Bangladesh’s foreign trade, is the only bank in Bangladesh with offices in each of the country’s eight designated export processing zones.