The government has drawn up a wide-ranging plan to make doing business easier to attract more foreign investment, diversify exports and spread industrial growth more evenly across the country in a budget document shows.
Deregulation sits at the centre of the strategy. Investment-related services will be fully digitalised and folded into the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority's One-Stop Service (BIDA-OSS) platform. An interactive website will map services by sector while BanglaBiz is being developed into a single digital gateway for business approvals, promising faster and more transparent government support. Nineteen sectors have been flagged as priorities for foreign direct investment.
Commerce Minister Khondakar Abdul Muktadir recently set an export target of $63.4 billion for FY2026-27 with goods and services exports each expected to grow 15 percent. Momentum is already building: the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) secured a record $717.71 million in investment proposals from 36 companies in FY26, a commitment expected to create over 75,000 jobs. BEPZA zones also earned $8.41 billion in exports last year, or 17.51 percent of total merchandise exports. New EPZs are planned for Patuakhali, Jashore, Rangpur and Sirajganj.
In July, the Cabinet approved in principle three key policies: the draft Invest Bangladesh Act 2026, the National Renewable Energy Development Strategy and the Import Policy Order 2026-29. New economic zones in Kurigram, Nilphamari, Chandpur and Kushtia aim to shift growth away from the Dhaka-Chattogram corridor.
With LDC graduation approaching, Dhaka will pursue trade and partnership agreements to stay competitive while reducing reliance on ready-made garments currently 82 percent of export earnings by pushing handicrafts, jute goods, cosmetics and other niche products into markets across Latin America, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
For smaller enterprises, Bangladesh Bank's Tk.60,000 crore Stimulus Package-2026 will support agriculture, SMEs and struggling industries, offering a 6 percent interest subsidy. Officials expect the combined measures to generate more than 2.5 million jobs.
