BRAC Bank’s Tara celebrates 9th anniversary

BRAC Bank’s women’s banking initiative, Tara, has marked its ninth anniversary, bringing half a million women in Bangladesh under a single, purpose-driven banking proposition.

Launched in 2017, the platform has grown into a two-wing ecosystem -- Tara Retail and Tara SME -- now accounting for around 25 percent of the bank’s retail deposit portfolio held by women.

Tara Retail serves over 350,000 customers, with deposits exceeding Tk 14,000 crore, while the SME segment supports more than 128,000 women entrepreneurs with loans of over Tk 2,600 crore.

Over the years, Tara has expanded access through products such as the Homemaker Account and digital savings solutions, while also promoting financial awareness through targeted programmes and training.

Commenting on the platform’s accomplishments, Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, managing director and CEO of the bank, said, “Tara was built on the conviction that women are not a niche to be served, but a market to be served well.”

Products such as the Homemaker Account and the Tara Virtual Savings Account have improved access by removing income barriers and enabling fully digital banking.

The initiative also integrates life events such as Mother’s Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Month into customer engagement programmes, while training 120 frontline staff under its Ambassador Training initiative.

It has maintained a non-performing loan ratio of 1.14 percent while expanding services beyond finance into training, market access, and digital skills.

Programmes such as Uddokta Mela, Uddokta 101, and nationwide training initiatives have reached thousands of entrepreneurs across Bangladesh, helping improve business capacity and financial inclusion.

Tara has also earned global recognition, winning multiple awards from the Financial Alliance for Women and the World Bank Group’s SME Finance Forum.