eLAP: Transforming the Loan Process for Bangladesh’s SMEs
Accessing a loan in Bangladesh’s banking industry may often feel like navigating a maze of endless paperwork. Business owners and entrepreneurs face a time-consuming journey to secure financing, a long list of documents, paperwork, and multiple visits from Relationship Officers (ROs) for signatures—a process that can stretch over weeks.
BRAC Bank decided it was time for a smarter approach.
In 2022, the bank introduced the Electronic Loan Application Proposal (eLAP), a digital platform designed for faster and more efficient loan applications. By December 2023, eLAP had been rolled out across 556 SME Unit Offices nationwide, transforming SME banking in Bangladesh.
And it has truly turned things around.
Before eLAP, the loan process involved multiple stages, from business initiato...