Bangladesh Businesses Need 31 Licences and 650 Days to Launch, BUILD Study Reveals

Dhaka, July 31, 2026 — Businesses in some sectors of Bangladesh need nearly two years and over 30 licences to start operations, according to a new study by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), exposing regulatory bottlenecks that continue to discourage formalisation. 📋 The study, based on more than 50 key informant interviews, found that the regulatory burden varies dramatically across sectors but remains a significant barrier to business entry across the board. 🏛️

📊 The findings were presented at an event titled "Regulatory Streamlining for an Enabling Business Environment for Formalization", jointly organised by BUILD, the Ministry of Industries (MoI), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) at the ministry's conference room. 🤝

📊 Sector-Wise Regulatory Burden

📋 The BUILD study revealed stark differences in regulatory requirements across sectors:

🗑️ Plastic Waste Management

• 📜 31 licences required to start operations
• 📄 235+ documents needed for regulatory approvals
• 📅 ~650 days to secure all approvals

⚙️ Light Engineering

• 📜 30 licences required
• 📄 200+ documents needed
• 📅 ~600 days for approvals

⚠️ Perhaps most alarmingly, the study found that around 50-60 percent of the required paperwork is duplicated across government agencies, adding unnecessary compliance costs and delays. This duplication represents a significant inefficiency in Bangladesh's regulatory system. 📊

💬 BUILD's Key Findings and Recommendations

🎤 Presenting the keynote paper, BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum said cumbersome regulations remain one of the biggest barriers to business formalisation. Citing Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, she revealed:

• 📊 65 percent of the country's economic units remain informal
• 👥 Registered enterprises account for more than half of total employment
• ⚠️ The informal sector's dominance constrains economic growth and tax revenue

📋 To ease the regulatory burden, BUILD proposed several key reforms:

• 🔢 Single Digital Business Identity Number — a unified identifier for all government interactions
• 🏛️ One-stop licensing platform — centralised application and approval system
• 📅 Multi-year licence validity — reduce renewal frequency
• 🤝 Harmonised data sharing — eliminate document duplication across agencies

💰 BUILD estimates these reforms could reduce compliance costs by 30-50 percent, making formalisation significantly more attractive for businesses. 📈

🏛️ Government Response

🤝 Industries Secretary Abdun Naser Khan said the government had formed a high-level committee to accelerate regulatory reforms and was working to improve the One Stop Service (OSS) platform through greater digitalisation. He expressed hope that businesses would see progress in simplifying procedures in the coming months. 📋

🏢 BUILD Chairperson Abul Kasem Khan launched the organisation's business licensing guidebooks and called for several specific reforms:

• 🔌 Unified utility connection application system — single application for gas, electricity, water
• 🔍 Joint inspections — by government agencies to reduce multiple visits
• ⚖️ Legally enforceable service-level agreements — to ensure timely public services

👥 He said Bangladesh would need at least 100,000 new entrepreneurs to achieve its target of creating one million jobs. 📊

🌍 ILO Perspective: Informal Employment Challenge

👨‍💼 Peter Jr Bellen, chief technical officer of the ILO country office for Bangladesh, provided important context on the informal employment challenge:

"Eight out of every 10 workers in Bangladesh remain in informal employment, underscoring the need to expand formal jobs as the country prepares for graduation from least developed country status."

⚠️ This statistic highlights the urgency of regulatory reform. With 80% of workers in informal employment, Bangladesh's formal sector remains underdeveloped, limiting tax revenue, worker protections, and economic productivity. The regulatory burden identified by BUILD is a major factor keeping businesses informal. 📊

📈 Context: Bangladesh's Business Environment Challenges

🌐 The BUILD study's findings align with broader concerns about Bangladesh's business environment:

• 📊 Starting a business — Bangladesh ranks poorly in global ease-of-doing-business indices
• 📋 Multiple approvals — businesses must interact with numerous agencies for permits
• 💰 Compliance costs — high regulatory costs deter formalisation
• ⏱️ Time delays — 650-day approval timelines are unsustainable for business planning
• 🔄 Duplication — 50-60% paperwork duplication wastes time and resources

🔮 Reform Outlook and Next Steps

📋 The government's formation of a high-level committee and commitment to improving the OSS platform are positive steps. However, meaningful reform will require:

• 🏛️ Inter-agency coordination — breaking down silos between ministries
• 💻 Digital transformation — moving from paper-based to digital systems
• 📊 Performance monitoring — tracking approval times and bottlenecks
• 🤝 Stakeholder consultation — involving businesses in reform design
• ⚖️ Legal framework — enforceable service-level agreements for accountability

📈 For Bangladesh's export economy, regulatory streamlining is particularly critical. As the country prepares for LDC graduation and seeks to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), reducing the time and cost of starting a business will be essential for maintaining competitiveness. The BUILD study provides a clear roadmap — the question is whether the government can implement reforms quickly enough to make a difference. 🎯

🌐 The proposal for a Single Digital Business Identity Number and one-stop licensing platform aligns with the government's broader BanglaBiz initiative, which aims to merge all OSS portals into a single digital platform for investor services. If implemented effectively, these reforms could transform Bangladesh's business environment and unlock significant economic potential. 🚀