Published: April 9, 2025, 05:03 PM
The report highlights that with targeted policy actions, Bangladesh could generate 2.37 million jobs annually in the construction sector by supporting the development of new housing units
Bangladesh has the potential to create millions of jobs and attract large-scale investments by implementing key reforms in four priority sectors, according to a new report released by the World Bank Group. The report, titled Bangladesh Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD), was unveiled on Tuesday at the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025.
The CPSD report outlines a roadmap for unlocking private sector growth through targeted policy actions. It estimates that with strategic reforms, the country could generate as many as 2.37 million jobs annually in the construction sector alone by facilitating the development of new housing units.
In addition, the report projects the creation of over 664,000 formal jobs through the expansion of domestic paint and dye production. Reforms in digital financial services could also yield between 96,000 to 400,000 new jobs, the report noted.
The four sectors identified as priorities are green ready-made garments (RMG), middle-income housing, paint and dyes, and digital financial services. The report emphasizes that addressing regulatory and infrastructure-related barriers in these areas is essential for maintaining Bangladesh’s economic competitiveness, especially as the country moves toward graduation from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
Among the key policy recommendations are aligning the RMG sector with EU sustainability standards, improving access to housing finance by reforming property registration and digital mapping systems, digitizing customs classification for faster clearance of inputs in the paint and dye industry, and reforming mobile financial services by introducing merchant wallets with higher transaction limits.
Speaking at the report launch, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), said, “By fostering private sector-led growth and expanding institutional foundations, Bangladesh can achieve sustainable economic progress.”
Gayle Martin, Interim Country Director for the World Bank in Bangladesh, stressed the need for urgent action. “With new and emerging challenges, Bangladesh needs transformative policy and institutional reforms to help firms expand domestically, compete globally, and create millions of jobs for its youth entering the labor market every year,” she said.
Martin Holtmann, Country Manager for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, echoed the sentiment, calling the CPSD “a strategic roadmap” for competitiveness and investment. “By working together, we can create jobs and opportunities to improve livelihoods and accelerate sustainable development in Bangladesh,” he said.
The event also featured a panel discussion with notable figures including Lutfey Siddiqi, the government’s Envoy for International Affairs, and BIDA’s Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun. Business leaders such as Arun Mitra from Nippon Paint, Kamal Quadir from bKash, Selim R. F. Hussain from BRAC Bank, Sharif Zahir from Ananta Group, and Srabanti Datta from ABC Real Estate shared their views on the report’s recommendations.
While the report focuses on four core sectors, its recommendations extend more broadly to improving the country’s overall investment climate, job creation potential, and long-term development goals.
