Dhaka: Business leaders, government officials, and development partners have called for comprehensive regulatory reforms aimed at reducing the administrative burdens on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). They emphasized that business formalization is crucial for Bangladesh’s transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the call was made during a stakeholders’ consultation titled ‘Regulatory Streamlining for an Enabling Business Environment for Formalization’. This event was jointly organized by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), the Ministry of Industries (MoI), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) at the ministry’s conference room in Dhaka. It gathered senior government officials, business chamber representatives, employers’ and workers’ organizations, development partners, and researchers to discuss BUILD’s new business licensing guidebooks and identify priority regulatory reforms.
Industries Secretary Abdun Naser Khan, speaking as the chief guest, highlighted the importance of simplifying regulations to accelerate enterprise formalization and ease challenges faced by SMEs. He announced the formation of a high-level committee led by the Minister for Industries, Textiles, Jute, and Commerce to expedite regulatory reforms, expressing optimism that businesses would soon experience simplified procedures.
BUILD Chairperson Abul Kasem Khan introduced newly published business licensing guidebooks aimed at helping investors understand permit and approval requirements. He proposed a unified utility connection application system, joint inspection mechanisms, and legally enforceable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to reduce delays in government services. He also noted the government’s target of creating one million jobs, stressing the necessity of regulatory simplification to achieve this goal.
BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum presented a keynote paper, citing Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data that approximately 65 percent of economic units remain informal, although registered enterprises account for more than half of total employment. She highlighted the excessive regulatory burden, using plastic waste management and light engineering enterprises as examples, and proposed measures such as a Single Digital Business Identity Number and a One Stop Licensing Platform to reduce compliance costs.
Peter Jr. Bellen from the ILO emphasized the importance of transitioning informal workers into formal employment as Bangladesh prepares for LDC graduation and export diversification. He affirmed the ILO’s commitment to providing technical support for the reform process.
During a panel discussion, Additional Secretary A K M Nurunnabi noted improvements in company registration processes, while Joint Secretary Md Shamsul Hoque identified the lack of a central trade licence database as a significant challenge. Deputy Managing Director of SME Foundation Nazem H Sattar and Dr Nadia Binte Amin, President of Women Entrepreneurs Network for Development (WEND), highlighted various financial and bureaucratic challenges faced by small businesses.
The event concluded with Additional Secretary Nurruzzaman expressing gratitude to participants and requesting BUILD and the ILO to compile reform proposals from the consultation, with follow-up meetings planned to implement these recommendations into concrete policy actions.