Bangladesh

IFC promotes sustainable growth and private sector development in Bangladesh by investing in critical infrastructure, boosting financial inclusion, enhancing competitiveness and sustainability in textiles, and supporting reforms to make doing business easier for the private sector.

Bangladesh has been one of the biggest development success stories of recent decades with remarkable progress in poverty reduction supported by sustained economic growth. It is among the fastest-growing economies in the world thanks to a strong ready-made garment (RMG) exports and stable macroeconomic conditions. As the country prepares to graduate from the United Nations least-developed countries list in 2026, there are new challenges and opportunities for inclusive, sustainable and green growth.

Post–COVID-19 recovery in the country will also require a reimagining of the country’s developmental model, where the private sector must play a key role. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, IFC has provided a total of $260 million in working capital solutions to banks and liquidity support to companies. These investments are helping keep businesses open and preserve jobs, which is critical to sustaining the Bangladeshi economy.

Since 2000, IFC has invested over $3.5 billion to help private sector growth in the country. Some key sectors for future investment opportunities include transport and logistics, energy, financial services, light manufacturing, agribusiness, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.

STORIES OF IMPACT

	Promoting Sustainable Textiles: Ready Made Garments is a critically important sector in Bangladesh, contributing more than 80 percent of export earnings, and employing more than 4 million people, mostly women. In the readymade garments sector, the IFC-led Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) advisory program has helped reduce wastewater and greenhouse gases of 28.7 billion liters of water and 558,000 tons of carbon emissions equivalent per year, respectively. The program also helped establish the $200 million Green Transformation Fund with Bangladesh Bank, and green banking products with financial institutions, which has enabled factories to access finance for resource efficiency.
	Powering Bangladesh: Access to electricity has doubled since 2000 and about 83 percent of the population currently has access to grid electricity, but Bangladesh still trails significantly behind its peers. IFC is one of the largest investors in Bangladesh’s power sector financing projects supporting 4,640 megawatts of base power supply, which is more than 20% of power generation in Bangladesh. To help the Government of Bangladesh achieve its goal of universal access to power by 2021 and meet domestic gas supply needs, IFC is also helping increase the supply of natural gas to Bangladesh by supplementing domestic gas supply with imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Excelerate Offshore LNG Terminal, which was the first liquefied natural gas import terminal in the country, was financed by IFC.
	Improving Investment: IFC seeks to improve the investment climate for private sector investors and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) to Bangladesh, expanding opportunities for all investors. The Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund, a long-term partnership with the UK government, has facilitated $427 million in private investment, created 46,000 new jobs and released $324 million that was tied up through better contract enforcement. The program also assisted in creating the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and launch the award-winning One-Stop Service to improve investment facilitation services, which have been instrumental in improving the country’s overall business environment

Published in November 2021