The 71st Social Business Design Lab organised by Yunus Centre took place yesterday at the Grameen Bank Bhaban in the capital, says a press release. 
The programme was chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, and brought together more than 130 participations from Bangladesh and abroad coming from diverse backgrounds. Professor Yunus welcomed the participants to the Lab and updated the audience  that 885 social business projects had been  presented in the 70 labs organised to date since January 2013, of which 860 had been approved for investment, most of which were already in operation. He said, “We would soon cross the 1000 invested projects mark”.
At the 71st Lab held yesterdaty, six new Nobin Udyokta - new entrepreneurs from Grameen Bank families - presented their 
business plans. Remarkably, four of the six entrepreneurs presenting yesterday were young women. 
Their presentations provided details of their business plans, details of the investment needed, monthly and annual profits, break even point for the business, and payback period of their investment. The projects were discussed in detail in plenary and in group discussions. All six were approved for investment through social business fund. 
In addition, Grameen Shakti Samajik Byabosha signed six new Nobin Udyokta projects and Grameen Kalyan also signed MoU with six new Nobin Udyoktas yesterday. 
At the end of the event, Professor Muhammad Yunus noted that it was very good progress that nearly 900 new social businesses projects had been launched in the two years since the start of the Social Business Design Lab in January 2013. 
He said that the vast majority of them were Nobin Udyokta projects where the young people running the businesses had undertaken that they would not be job-seekers, rather they would be job-givers, providing employment for themselves but also for others in their communities, which was an invaluable contribution to the national economy. 
Professor Yunus invited everyone to attend the annual Social Business Day celebration which would take place in 2015 on 28 May.

Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury, managing director of Prime Bank, attends a press conference to announce celebrations marking the bank's 20th anniversary at a hotel in Dhaka yesterday.

Prime Bank Managing Director Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury yesterday announced a number of programmes to celebrate its 20th anniversary today.

The bank will organise a blood donation programme supported by the Thalassemia Hospital for all employees of the bank, he said in a press briefing in the capital.

An art competition among the children of Prime Bank's employees will also be organised, the bank said in the statement. 

The bank will soon launch the renowned MasterCard brand for its clients, Chowdhury said.

“We want to provide our customers with international standard banking services.”

Ex-7 officials of Oriental Bank, currently known as ICB Islami Bank gets 10-yr regoous imprisonment for loan scam.

A Special Judge’s Court on Monday ordered to send seven officials of Oriental Bank to ten years rigorous imprisonment each for sanctioning a loan of Tk 1.00 crore to a spurious company. The amount was later accumulated to Tk 1.88 crore with interests. The Special Court’s judge Hosne Ara Begum, passed the order and asked them to pay a fine Tk 1.90 crore. They all worked at the headquarters of the bank on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue when the crime was committed in 2005. The offenders were identified as Khan Md Harun, senior vice president of the bank, Abul Kashem Mahmudullah, senior assistant vice president, Fazlur Rahman, former assistant vice president, Mahmud Hossain, senior executive vice president, Kamrul Islam, former executive vice president, Enamul Haque, former deputy general manager. Earlier, M/s Tanveer Agency, opened an account with Oriental Bank’s (recently known as ICB Islami Bank) headquarter at Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue on July 27 in 2005 and applied for Tk 10,00,00,00 loan, which was granted on that very day. Later the investigations revealed that the company was a fake one. Deputy Director of Anti Corruption Commission, Md. Jahangir Alam filed a case against the officials in this connection on December 29 in 2006. Police pressed charges against the officials on March 9, 2013.The convicts have been hiding.

Memorandum signing ceremony between Midland Bank Ltd and Long Beach Hotel Ltd of Coxs Bazar in progress at the banks head office in the city recently.

Midland Bank Limited (MDB) has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Long Beach Hotel Ltd. Under this agreement, MDB Visa cardholders will enjoy special privileges from Long Beach Hotel, Cox's Bazar, said a press release.

Md Ridwanul Hoque, SVP and Head of Retail Distribution of Midland Bank Ltd and Sharif Sadi, Head of Sales and Marketing of Long Beach Hotel signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations, at a simple ceremony held at Bank's Head Office in Dhaka.

Managing Director & CEO of National Bank Limited Shamsul Huda Khan and Company Secretary of DESCO Engr. Zulfikar Tahmid, exchanging documents after signing an agreement on behalf of respective organisations in the city on Sunday. Under the agreement, clients of DESCO will now be able to pay their electricity bill through different branches of National Bank in Dhaka city.