Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) on Saturday hosted the country’s first ‘Meet the Governor’ session, bringing students into direct dialogue with Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman on cashless transactions, digital payments and entrepreneurship.

The event was held at the Syed Nazrul Islam Conference Hall on the university campus, focusing on expanding cashless transactions and promoting digital payment systems.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman attended the programme as the chief guest. BAU Student Affairs Adviser Professor Dr GM Mujibar Rahman and Dutch-Bangla Bank Managing Director Md Ahteshamul Haque Khan were present as special guests.

Teachers and students from different faculties also attended the programme.

An open question-and-answer session was held, with students raising questions about the banking system, digital transactions and Bangla QR. The governor responded to their queries and discussed the potential of digital payment systems.

Speaking at the event, Dutch-Bangla Bank Managing Director Md Ahteshamul Haque Khan said cashless transactions in Bangladesh had increased several times under the leadership of Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman.

Highlighting the potential of Bangla QR, the governor said the government currently spends around Tk 20,000 crore annually on printing and managing currency notes.

The expenditure could be reduced by at least Tk 10,000 crore through the successful implementation of QR-based transactions, he said.

The governor also outlined a plan to develop 5,000 young entrepreneurs, with 10 selected from each upazila.

Each selected entrepreneur would be eligible for financial support of up to Tk 20 lakh, with 50% provided as a grant and the remaining 50% as a low-interest loan.

According to the governor, while regular bank lending rates are currently around 13% to 14%, the proposed startup loans would carry interest rates of 4% for startups, 5% for women entrepreneurs and 7% for other new entrepreneurs.