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Going up the Ladder: From Least Developed Country to a Developing Country Bangladesh is set to graduate from its status as a Least Developed Country (LDC) in November 2026. After 46 years of being enlisted in the category, the country has met all three criteria as assessed triennially by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the United Nations, […]

Bangladesh’s Healthcare Sector: An Overview Strides in healthcare sector in Bangladesh have simultaneously been one of Bangladesh’s key drivers and indicators of economic and social development since its inception. Average life expectancy has grown from 52 years in the 1970s to 72 years today, the maternal mortality ratio has reduced by 67 percent since 1990, […]

The global economy has been undergoing turbulent times over the last couple of years, spearheaded by the pandemic-induced slowdown in 2020 and the resulting supply chain disruptions wrought about by travel restrictions and lockdowns. While the pandemic has receded—facilitated by the invention, mass production, and distribution of vaccines in record time—a number of geopolitical challenges have disrupted economic recovery. The advent of […]

This letter was first published in the Bimonthly Newsletter of September 2022 Dear Friends and Patrons: The global economy has been undergoing turbulent times over the last couple of years, spearheaded by the pandemic-induced slowdown in 2020 and the resulting supply chain disruptions wrought about by travel restrictions and lockdowns. While the pandemic has receded—facilitated […]

The “Building Skills for Unemployed and Underemployed Labor” (B-SkillFUL) program is a Swisscontact project, funded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh. LightCastle Partners, one of the Business Development Services (BDS) providers of the B-SkillFUL program, hosted a day-long Corporate Connect Event for MSMEs in Gulshan 1, Dhaka on the 7th of September, 2022. A […]

About PoultryTechBangladesh: The commercial poultry sector has witnessed impressive growth since the early 1990s through formalization and large-scale investments. Over the last twenty years, the poultry sector has grown in tandem with rising consumer demand, which has contributed to further strengthening of the value chain through the introduction of poultry integrators. The Netherlands is internationally […]

LightCastle Partners recently prepared a whitepaper titled “Bangladesh Shrimp Sector: Transitioning Towards Sustainable Growth” that discussed the value chain analysis, recent export trends, bottlenecks for growth, the potential of Vannamei farming, and the future prospects of the Bangladesh shrimp sector. Subsequently, a webinar was organized on August 22, 2022, to share the key findings from […]

Infrastructure a Key Catalyst In the first part of the discussion on the Investment Climate of Bangladesh, the country’s economic resilience, growing investment portfolio, and thrust sector opportunities were discussed. Along with it, the past decade has been characterized by substantial investments in infrastructure, which have been key to industrialization and the logistical integration of […]

Resilient Economic Growth Bangladesh’s rise from the ruins of its war of independence, 50 years ago, has been nothing short of remarkable. In 2020, Bangladesh surpassed India’s, GDP per capita, and is now the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia as well as the 41st largest in the world. The middle and affluent class in the country […]

A Brief Historical Emergence of the Shrimp Industry in Bangladesh In the early 1970s, the beginning of commercial shrimp farming started in Bangladesh with 9 fish processing plants being set up in Chittagong and Khulna and that gave rise to the present export-oriented shrimp industry. Since then, commercial shrimp farming slowly started to gain popularity […]

Executive Summary Bangladesh is often overlooked with MENA funds flowing into Pakistan and India securing its own focused funds, attributed to its country size. Additionally, Bangladesh is also isolated from ASEAN. However, the country, home to 165 Mn people, is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with a GDP per capita higher than […]

Despite significant socio-economic developments, Bangladesh still remains to have less than 1% of GDP allocation for the healthcare sector. While public spending increases at a rate slower than the growing demand, how can we attract more private funding into the Healthcare sector? Public Healthcare Sector Bangladesh has made significant socio-economic developments in recent years, with […]

Over the last decade, Bangladeshi Startups have raised over US$800Mn investments, spearheading the economy and creating 1.5Mn+ direct and indirect employment opportunities while positively impacting the citizens’ day-to-day lives. In the first half of 2022, Bangladeshi startups raised over US$90Mn. But what will drive the country’s startup ecosystem to the next height? When will we […]

This letter was first published in the Bimonthly Newsletter of August 2022 Dear Friends and Valued Stakeholders: Energy sustainability has always been a key issue for achieving economic resilience. Bangladesh has come a long way in that regard with 96%+ of the population having access to electricity in 2020 from 32% in 2000 (WorldBank). A large proportion of that […]

Impact investment is any investment made with the intent to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact, alongside a financial return. The global impact investment industry, totaling USD 715 billion, has grown in depth and sophistication over the last decade. As countries worldwide lean towards a values-oriented approach, Bangladesh has been shaping its own trajectory […]