SME Funding & Youth Entrepreneurship: Bangladesh Bank rolled out “Udyog” to finance up to age-28 entrepreneurs in every upazila, with strict eligibility (no prior business loans, clean credit, local residency) and coverage from tech to agri and light engineering. SME Finance & Agriculture: BRAC Bank signed onto Bangladesh Bank’s Tk 3,000 crore revolving refinance to back northern agri value chains, including cold-chain, processing, warehousing and export, capped at 7% interest. Payments Innovation for Small Business: Stripe and Ramp launched stablecoin payment tools (Ramp Bill Pay and Ramp Stablecoin Accounts) to let SMBs pay bills instantly, 24/7, with dollar-to-stablecoin conversion via Stripe’s Bridge. Workforce Productivity with AI: Fergus launched an AI-first job management system for tradespeople, aiming to cut admin and speed up quotes, invoices and getting paid. Global Tech & Startup Support: BRICS leaders backed an incubator network, a proposed BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, and a BRICS SME portal, alongside early-warning and logistics cooperation. Cybersecurity for SMBs: Visa unveiled AI-driven cybersecurity upgrades to speed vulnerability remediation, while separate reporting warns thousands of small-business sites were compromised via fake CAPTCHA malware traps. Local Business Reality Check: A Mitchell, SD council work session will review a proposed 2027 budget of $73.3M, including a new internal economic development position.