Recently, Bangladesh completed 40 years as an independent country. At the time of its birth, questions were raised about the country’s survival. Four decades later, Bangladesh is counted among the ‘Next Eleven Economies’, which along with the BRICS, are a group of countries poised for high economic growth in the 21st century. Though the country has witnessed political successes as well as failures, it is looked upon as a leader in the field of development. Bangladesh has led many innovations in the development sector including microfinance by Grameen Bank, and nation reconstruction in education, health and social enterprise by BRAC, the world’s largest non-governmental development organization. 

The country hopes to leave its ‘Least Developed Country’ status behind and graduate to a developing country over the next decade. In order to realize this goal, Bangladesh is looking at boosting its existing strengths as well as supporting new emerging sectors. A key area will be efforts to improve the livelihood of the urban and rural poor, and extend the benefits of the country’s economic growth to the less privileged. 

As Bangladesh turns 50 in 2021, it is pertinent to examine some of the new initiatives that will be key to its economic growth in the coming years. While efforts of the private sector and NGOs are increasingly important, a large litmus test is the extent of government and political support. It is hence important to examine some of the present government plans for the next decade.

At present, the Bangladeshi economy is hugely dependent on the ready-made garments sector and remittances from migrant expatriates. The government is presently exploring new innovations to further boost these two sectors. For instance, in January 2012, the government announced an initiative to develop ‘Garment Villages’ across the country. The first such garment village is already on its way to be set up in Savar, near the capital city of Dhaka. This is part of the larger government push to encourage entrepreneurs in the garment sector and provide support by handing out cash incentives. According to a recent McKinsey and Company Report, ready-made garments sector exports have the potential to triple over the next decade, making Bangladesh a major apparel sourcing hub. Some textile manufacturers have already shifted base from India, Pakistan and China to Bangladesh, in order to gain from the more conducive and profitable environment for ready-made garments.  At present, Bangladesh has around 5,000 garment factories which employ about 3.5 million workers, more than 80% of whom are women. The growth of this sector is hence likely to benefit the economic empowerment of women in the country. 

Similarly, the government is also exploring ways to support migrant workers. Currently, about 7 million Bangladeshis i.e. 5% of the country’s population have migrated overseas for gainful employment. The Bangladeshi government has launched new initiatives for the benefit of impoverished migrants that are looking for employment abroad. People looking to work abroad can now register their personal details (CV, Passport details, National ID number) on a government website, which can be viewed directly by foreign employers. The new online registration system costs only workers around USD 1.3. Further, workers have an option to initiate online registration and pay the fee by sending a text message from their mobile phones. In the last year, migration-related expenditure, in case of female migrants seeking work in the Middle East, has been reduced from USD 1500 to USD 120, mainly through the help of government initiatives. The government has also introduced Smart Cards (a tag with computer chips) for overseas jobseekers, which contains 18 pieces of information about the worker, including fingerprints, passport details, and employer details. This will ease the hassle of immigration process and remove the necessity for migrants to fill the embarkation form at the airport. The Smart Card will enable Bangladeshi embassies in foreign countries to help migrants faster, and also be of assistance in case the migrant’s passport is seized by the employer, a common occurrence. 

In the future, such efforts may boost the number of workers seeking employment overseas and aid the economy by increasing the remittances received from migrant expatriates.

In addition to the above sectors, information and communication technologies (ICT) and ship-building are emerging sectors that will be particularly important for reinvigorating the rural economy. Bangladesh is looking to diversify its economy by supporting such new sectors.

The past few years have seen an increasing trend to extend access to digital technologies to rural areas of Bangladesh, as part of the national ‘Digital Bangladesh’ vision 2021. Government efforts have been supplemented with like-minded initiatives by NGOs. In November 2010, the government launched 4501 Union Information and Service Centers in each zilla parishad (union) of the country, with the aim of integrating technology into the daily lives of rural people. This rollout was supported by the United Nations Development Programme’s ‘Access to Information’ project. These centres are already yielding positive results and witness an average of 40-70 visitors per day for miscellaneous services. The government is also promoting the Doel, an indigenously developed low cost laptop priced at USD 131, which was recently launched in October 2011. Schools and colleges in the country hope to adopt this low-cost laptop in order to encourage e-based learning.

These initiatives have the potential to bridge the rural-urban digital divide, and create a pool of skilled labour force with IT literacy, thereby changing the landscape of the country in the next decade.

Another burgeoning sector is ship-building. Traditionally, Bangladesh has been a ship-breaking nation. However the country is now looking to advance to become a ship-building country. Bangladesh has seen a huge jump in orders to build small ships for export purposes; an emerging trend that is likely to be sustained in the future. Ship building has been declared a priority area and given a 5 year tax holiday. Plans are also underway to develop integrated ship building zones in different parts of the country. Shipbuilding is estimated to be the second largest export sector in Bangladesh and contribute to3-4% of the country’s GDP by 2015. The present government has pinned its hopes on shipbuilding to lead the country from ‘least developed country’ status to ‘developing country’ status by 2021.

Hence in the future, ready-made garments, remittances from migrants, ICT in rural areas, and ship-building are likely to be the major contributors to the country’s economic growth. Successful implementation of new government initiatives at the grassroots level will be critical for the realization of the country’s ambitious goals. 

However, the internal political situation, post the next round of national elections in 2014, and the rising threat of climate change are likely to be challenges in the country’s upward trajectory. 

The next decade holds promise and hope, particularly for the nation’s poor. Will Bangladesh be a more prosperous and equitable nation when it completes its Golden Jubilee in 2021? It remains to be seen.