COVID-19

It is undeniable that Bangladesh holds tremendous potential in leveraging future economic development through its workforce.The country’s Labor Force is 71 Million Strong as of 2020. Of that number, 30.63% is women. While this statistic may at first seem to paint a rosy picture, there are a number of issues with employment in Bangladesh that […]

The COVID-19 Pandemic has developed into an unprecedented test for the Bangladesh Healthcare sector, which has been bludgeoned by the rate of infection across the country.As it stands on 1st September, 2020, Bangladesh has 310,822 confirmed cases, with 201,907 recoveries and 4,248 deaths. It is globally 15th on the ranking of most severely affected countries […]

Shrimp is one of the most important export items in Bangladesh, accounting for more than 70 percent of its agricultural exports. Its massive contribution to national exports has earned it the nickname, “White Gold.” The majority of this revenue winning item is exported to the European Union (EU) countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. […]

The recent coronavirus-induced shutdowns throughout Bangladesh have caused an estimated loss of BDT 565.36 billion (USD 6.66 billion) between March and May 2020 for the businesses working in agriculture, fisheries, and meat producing sectors. Nation-wide disruptions have resulted in restricted access to agricultural products, markets, and advisory services. Under these circumstances, it is important to […]

As part of its record stimulus package, Japan allocated USD 2.2 billion to help its manufacturers shift production out of China back in April. A part of the fund will aid companies to shift manufacturing to other countries in order to diversify production bases across multiple locations.  The move comes as the COVID-19 pandemic caused […]

As a country amidst a demographic dividend, Bangladesh has to closely monitor the employment opportunities of the youth. The United Nations defines Youth to be the part of the population between the ages 15-24. According to the last census, 19.14% of the Bangladeshi population are the youth while 27.29% of the population are between ages […]

The global apparel industry has been left reeling from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic as supply chains have been disrupted, trade has dwindled to near-stagnancy, and sentiments have flared, claiming this may be the fulcrum for a new anti-consumerism culture. In McKinsey & Company’s State of Fashion 2020, it was estimated from a survey […]

Like the rest of the world, Bangladesh is facing an economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower income groups tend to be more affected by such economic crises than those in the upper income. With growing levels of inequality in the country, the economic crisis due to the pandemic can harm the poor more […]

With the recent lifting of lockdown in Bangladesh, the question that hangs in the air is a difficult one. Is the social benefit of resuming business activity at full throttle on par with, or greater than the social cost that may arise if the rate of infection cannot be curbed? Though guidelines for mandatory social […]

Capital markets have a huge role to play in the economic development of the country. An efficient capital market helps allocate capital to businesses efficiently. Businesses in turn use the capital to grow, generate new ideas, and spread novel technologies. As a result, productivity improves and the overall economy benefits. Bangladesh’s capital market, however, has […]

With technological advancement, getting deliveries at home or office whether it is grocery or a parcel, has never been easier. It takes one click to get products or food at the doorsteps and this is due to the logistic service providers. The rapid growth in e-Commerce in Bangladesh has  been a windfall to local logistics […]

Global trade has been hit at an unprecedented speed and scale by the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey by the Institute for Supply Management conducted in March indicates that 75 percent of the companies reported supply chain disruptions in some form due to coronavirus-related restrictions. These companies with global supply chains faced an initial negative supply […]

The world is in unprecedented territory due to the COVID-19 Crisis in 2020. Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that the world can lose 0.089 percent to 0.404 percent of its GDP due to the outbreak, which is between USD 77 Billion and USD 347 Billion in monetary terms. The impact of the outbreak reached Bangladesh […]

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy is about to shrink by more than 3 percent in 2020, the sharpest slowdown since the Great Depression in the 1930s. With vaccines at least 12-18 months away and natural immunity at least 2 years away, this outbreak is proving to be a stress test […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the shutdown of educational institutions throughout the world. In Bangladesh, educational institutions have been closed since March 17. The Ministry of Education has decided to impose the shutdown until May 31. However, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has informed the shutdown can continue until September provided the situation does not improve. […]