Can Bangladesh Deliver on Its Investment Promises?

 

Bangladesh, long known for its resilience in the face of poverty, political unrest, and environmental vulnerability, has in recent decades carved a surprising niche in the global garments trade. Yet in Dhaka last week, as global CEOs, venture capitalists, and trade envoys mingled at the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, the mood was not one of cautious gratitude for incremental progress—it was of ambition. The kind that suggests a country preparing for a tectonic shift.

Organized by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the summit presented itself as a coming-of-age moment. The message was clear: Bangladesh is ready to graduate from the world’s sweatshop into its startup lab, from the margins of global commerce to a place near its center. It was a grand performance of possibility. But like all performances, it invites a simple question: What happens when the curtain falls?

BIDA’s chairman, Ashik Chowdhury, made a compelling case that the summit was about more than glitzy pledges or photo ops. It was about “laying the groundwork” for a new identity—one that pitches Bangladesh as a high-growth frontier for investment in technology, logistics, and green energy. In a world increasingly suspicious of China’s long-term intentions and fatigued by India’s bureaucracy, that pitch has a certain intuitive appeal.

The optics didn’t disappoint. Executives from Inditex (the parent company of Zara), Samsung C&T, and Telenor Asia rubbed shoulders with policymakers and envoys from the UK and Finland. Panels buzzed with talk of innovation and transition. The Bangladesh Startup Connect 2025 event, backed by new funds like Infusion Partners, projected a youthful energy, echoing the country’s demographic advantage—70% of its population is under 35. In a rare show of political maturity, even bitter rivals from the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the NCP appeared to share a stage, signaling a veneer of unity to foreign investors. If that’s not a miracle in Dhaka, what is?

And yet, as with all stories of promise, the devil remains in the details.

There’s a certain predictability to these sorts of gatherings in emerging economies. Big talk, bigger expectations, and then—almost invariably—a slow fade into disappointment. Bangladesh has been here before: grand strategies thwarted by modest execution. For all the optimism at this summit, it was impossible to ignore the country’s Achilles’ heels.

Start with infrastructure. The speeches in Dhaka were digital-age, but the roads and ports still belong to the industrial past. The Chattogram port, vital to the country’s exports, remains congested and under-resourced. Energy shortages continue to plague manufacturing zones, with factories often forced to operate at half-capacity. While promises of LNG stability by 2026 may reassure diplomats, investors deal in present realities.

Then there’s the bureaucracy—the kind that wears a smile during summits and a frown when investors apply for permits. Bangladesh has rolled out a “one-stop service” to streamline approvals, but as any business executive who’s tried to open a factory or launch a venture in Dhaka knows, the service rarely stops at just one. Regulatory unpredictability is not a footnote—it’s the story.

The startup ecosystem, which featured prominently in the summit’s programming, reflects both the potential and the paradox. Companies like bKash and 10 Minute School show that innovation can flourish here. But they are exceptions, not yet the rule. As Rahat Ahmed of Anchorless Bangladesh rightly pointed out, most local startups survive on grants, not scalable venture capital. There is no meaningful exit environment—no culture of IPOs or acquisition pathways—making Bangladesh a speculative playground, not a mature startup economy.

And hovering over all this is the specter of politics. Investors aren’t just buying into an economy; they’re buying into a system. While Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus tried to assure attendees of a “level playing field,” one summit does not erase years of volatility. Memories of the 2024 unrest, election uncertainty, and sudden policy swings linger like smog over Dhaka.

Yet it would be a mistake to dismiss the entire effort as theater. Beneath the polish was a genuine urgency—a sense that Bangladesh knows time is running short. The global investment community is fickle. Opportunities have a shelf life.

And there are silver linings worth examining. The country’s location—nestled between India and China—offers strategic access to the ASEAN+ economies. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) is beginning to offer more competitive incentives than regional rivals like Vietnam. Tax holidays, profit repatriation, and long-term land leases are not mere policy points—they are magnets in the hands of capable governments.

More impressively, Bangladesh is showing signs of getting ahead of the sustainability curve. Yunus’s emphasis on “business with purpose” may strike some Western ears as platitude, but in a country where the climate crisis is not hypothetical, it lands differently. Green energy initiatives and social impact investing aren’t just ethical imperatives—they are survival strategies. Companies like Excelerate Energy and Marubeni are beginning to take notice.

China, ever the opportunist, certainly has. A 60-member delegation arrived in Dhaka with Belt and Road on the mind. Beijing sees Bangladesh as both a logistical node and a fintech experiment. What remains to be seen is whether Dhaka can leverage Chinese interest without becoming dependent on Chinese terms.

So what’s next?

The future of Bangladesh’s investment story hinges not on what happened between April 7 and 10, but on what happens between now and 2026. Will BIDA’s real-time investment tracking system actually ensure follow-through? Will port upgrades, smoother customs procedures, and the much-touted Japanese Economic Zone in Araihazar move from PowerPoint slides to concrete foundations? Will the interim government resist the temptation to return to partisan retrenchment after the cameras leave?

If the answer to these questions is yes, Bangladesh could well become the kind of success story Bretton Woods institutions love to claim credit for. A place where ambition and action finally align.

But if history is any guide, the summit risks becoming what many similar events have been for emerging economies: a well-lit stage, a compelling script, and no sequel. Bangladesh has long been underestimated. And maybe this summit marks the beginning of a new chapter. But even good beginnings demand better endings.

The world has now heard the pitch. It’s the delivery that matters.
 

M A Hossain is a political
and defense analyst based
in Bangladesh.