The Supply Side Gaps and Opportunities of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh

The growth and development of SME is largely dependent upon cheap and quick access to financial resources. More than ever before, nowadays SME contribute enormously to the economic development of a country; emerging economies top the list. In Bangladesh, 80% of the industrial employment comes through SME and hence much effort is being given toward flourishing it further. However, growth has been affected a lot with contracting funds in the hands of the owners making them vulnerable to slowing down. The major source of finance- the commercial banks face increasing risks from inexperience of the SME owners, lack of well prepared financial statements, in-depth knowledge about the actual need and government bureaucracies. This study attempts to light on the less pronounced challenges of SME development- those faced by the lenders or financers in the process. It has been found that in Bangladesh the segment is underserved by the financial institutions (FI) with less focus on providing customer-tailored products, no specialized credit risk assessment system and huge time required for credit clearance information are some of the bigger challenges. With the knowledge we will be able to identify the risks inherent in lending by the prime commercial banks as well as find solutions to increase the credit flow in the sector. Keywords: SME, Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs), supply side, commercial banks

Distribution of Risk and Return: A Statistical Test of Normality on Dhaka Stock Exchange

The present study deals with the normal distribution of risk and return of the capital market of Bangladesh. Normal distribution of return is an essential assumption in the field of efficient market hypothesis which posits that the returns of a market must follow the random walk behaviour. Again it is an integral part of Capital Asset Pricing Model, which suggests that if an investor wants to get higher return then he must consider higher risk, this denotes to the normal distribution of risk and return. This study has used a set of parametric and non-parametric tools to examine the returns calculated from the three indices of Dhaka Stock Exchange: DGEN (from 2002 to 2010), DSE20 (from 2002 to 2010) and DSI (from 2006 to 2010). As positive skewness and kurtosis are evident in most of the cases, the returns are found to be suffering from some extremities. Daily, weekly and monthly returns are not normally distributed which shows the contra-evidence of random walk behaviour of market return. Besides the inconsistency between risk and return (daily and weekly) is found, which suggests that additional return may be achieved without having exposure to additional risk. Keywords: Dhaka Stock Exchange, Efficient Market Hypothesis, Kurtosis, Non-parametric Test, Normal Distribution, Parametric Test, Risk and Return, Skewness

Full breastfeeding protection against common enteric bacteria and viruses: Results from the MAL-ED cohort study

Background Breastfeeding is known to reduce the risk of enteropathogen infections, but protection from specific enteropathogens is not well characterized. Objective The aim was to estimate the association between full breastfeeding (days fed breast milk exclusively or with nonnutritive liquids) and enteropathogen detection. Methods A total of 2145 newborns were enrolled at 8 sites, of whom 1712 had breastfeeding and key enteropathogen data through 6 mo. We focused on 11 enteropathogens: adenovirus 40/41, norovirus, sapovirus, astrovirus, and rotavirus, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Campylobacter spp., and typical enteropathogenic E. coli as well as entero-aggregative E. coli, Shigella and Cryptosporidium. Logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of enteropathogen detection in stools and survival analysis was used to estimate the timing of first detection of an enteropathogen. Results Infants with 10% more days of full breastfeeding within the preceding 30 d of a stool sample were less likely to have the 3 E. coli and Campylobacter spp. detected in their stool (mean odds: 0.92–0.99) but equally likely (0.99–1.02) to have the viral pathogens detected in their stool. A 10% longer period of full breastfeeding from birth was associated with later first detection of the 3 E. coli, Campylobacter, adenovirus, astrovirus, and rotavirus (mean HRs of 0.52–0.75). The hazards declined and point estimates were not statistically significant at 3 mo. Conclusions In this large multicenter cohort study, full breastfeeding was associated with lower likelihood of detecting 4 important enteric pathogens in the first 6 mo of life. These results also show that full breastfeeding is related to delays in the first detection of some bacterial and viral pathogens in the stool. As several of these pathogens are risk factors for poor growth during childhood, this work underscores the importance of exclusive or full breastfeeding during the first 6 mo of life to optimize early health.publishedVersio

Use of quantitative molecular diagnostic methods to investigate the effect of enteropathogen infections on linear growth in children in low-resource settings: longitudinal analysis of results from the MAL-ED cohort study

Summary: Background: Enteropathogen infections in early childhood not only cause diarrhoea but contribute to poor growth. We used molecular diagnostics to assess whether particular enteropathogens were associated with linear growth across seven low-resource settings. Methods: We used quantitative PCR to detect 29 enteropathogens in diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal stools collected from children in the first 2 years of life obtained during the Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development (MAL-ED) multisite cohort study. Length was measured monthly. We estimated associations between aetiology-specific diarrhoea and subclinical enteropathogen infection and quantity and attained length in 3 month intervals, at age 2 and 5 years, and used a longitudinal model to account for temporality and time-dependent confounding. Findings: Among 1469 children who completed 2 year follow-up, 35 622 stool samples were tested and yielded valid results. Diarrhoeal episodes attributed to bacteria and parasites, but not viruses, were associated with small decreases in length after 3 months and at age 2 years. Substantial decrements in length at 2 years were associated with subclinical, non-diarrhoeal, infection with Shigella (length-for-age Z score [LAZ] reduction −0·14, 95% CI −0·27 to −0·01), enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (−0·21, −0·37 to −0·05), Campylobacter (−0·17, −0·32 to −0·01), and Giardia (−0·17, −0·30 to −0·05). Norovirus, Cryptosporidium, typical enteropathogenic E coli, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi were also associated with small decrements in LAZ. Shigella and E bieneusi were associated with the largest decreases in LAZ per log increase in quantity per g of stool (−0·13 LAZ, 95% CI −0·22 to −0·03 for Shigella; −0·14, −0·26 to −0·02 for E bieneusi). Based on these models, interventions that successfully decrease exposure to Shigella, enteroaggregative E coli, Campylobacter, and Giardia could increase mean length of children by 0·12–0·37 LAZ (0·4–1·2 cm) at the MAL-ED sites. Interpretation: Subclinical infection and quantity of pathogens, particularly Shigella, enteroaggregative E coli, Campylobacter, and Giardia, had a substantial negative association with linear growth, which was sustained during the first 2 years of life, and in some cases, to 5 years. Successfully reducing exposure to certain pathogens might reduce global stunting. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation