What is SME?

A small- to mid-size enterprise (SME) is a business with revenues, assets, or numbers of employees that
fall below a certain level. Unfortunately, there isn't a set definition of SME that applies globally. The
criteria for determining an SME varies between countries and sometimes between industries. Each
country gets to set its own definition, and they may also decide to set specific limits for specific
industries. For example, in the European Union (EU), a business with fewer than 250 employees, is
considered an SME, while in the United States, an SME may have up to 1,200 employees.

In terms of Bangladesh,

Small Enterprise refers to the firm/business which is not a public limited company and complies the
following criteria:
Serial No. Sector Fixed Asset other than Employed Manpower
Land and Building (Tk.)
1 Service 50,000-50,00,000 25
2 Business 50,000-50,00,000 25
3 Industrial 50,000-1,50,00,000 50

Medium Enterprise refers to the establishment/firm which is not a public limited company and
complies the following criteria:
Serial No. Sector Fixed Asset other than Employed Manpower
Land and Building (Tk.)
1 Service 50,00,000-10,00,00,000 50
2 Business 50,00,000-10,00,00,000 50
3 Industrial 1,50,00,000-20,00,00,000 150

The Sectors of SME

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have historically been one staples of the enterprise landscape
within economies globally. The sectors that are found common globally, under SME are following-

 Electronics and electricals;

 Software-development;

 Light engineering and metal-working;

 Argo-processing/agri-business/plantation agriculture/ specialist farming/tissue-culture;

 Leather-making and leather goods;

 Knitwear and ready-made garments;

 Plastics and other synthetics;

 Healthcare & diagnostics;

 Educational services;
  Pharmaceuticals/cosmetics/toiletries;

 Fashion-rich personal effects, wear and consumption goods.

The mentioned ones are just a generalized view of the businesses falling under the SME. In terms of
Bangladesh, there are 132 sectors under SME listed by the Bank of Bangladesh, of which each of them
can be put under the generalized ones.

The mentioned 132 sectors can be found in the link below, labeled as “Sectors of SME”

 https://bb.org.bd/sme/index.php