Bangladesh’s commerce ministry launched a $7.5 million COVID-19 response fund. The fund will help private enterprises procure plant equipment and produce medical and personal protective equipment.

Tipu Munshi, the country’s commerce minister, in a virtual function on Sunday, announced the commencement of the fund called "COVID-19 Enterprise Response Fund (CERF) or Window-4" initiated with the support of the World Bank, The Daily Star said.

Hafizur Rahman, project director and additional secretary of the ministry, said under the CERF, the fund will support private enterprises to procure plant equipment and produce medical and personal protective equipment in a sustainable manner.

Industries will get the grants -- ranged between $50,000 and $500,000 -- under the scheme to enhance the country’s capacity to respond to the crisis.

About 50 applications will be accepted on a competitive basis for the grants, which would be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. 

In the last few weeks, Bangladesh witnessed a surge in cases, and its health infrastructure came and intense pressure.