Bangladesh Govt Aims to Raise Creative Economy to 3% of GDP: Finance Minister Khosru

🎨 Dhaka, Bangladesh — The government is working to grow Bangladesh’s creative economy to 3.0 per cent of GDP by mainstreaming the people involved in it through skills, design, branding and marketing support, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Monday, 7 September 2026.

📊 He was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a small business and micro-enterprise finance fund launched by Karmasangsthan Bank at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka city.

📊 Creative Economy: 3% of GDP Target

📊 Noting that creative economic activities account for a 10 per cent share in some other economies, he said the government wants to grow the sector’s share to a minimum of 3 per cent here. The government has adopted a separate model to mainstream marginal communities through the creative economy, offering:

• 🎓 Skills training
• 🎨 Design support
• 💰 Loans
• 🌏 Marketing support

💬 Products made by these communities are saleable in international markets, he said, adding that the government also wants to extend marketing support to them.

🌏 Thailand Model: Village Artisans for Global Market

💬 Citing Thailand as an example, Mr Chowdhury said artisans in the country’s villages make gift items for the global market while the government provides branding and marketing support. This model demonstrates how creative economy can generate export revenue while creating employment in rural areas.

📊 For Bangladesh, the creative economy encompasses:

• 🧵 Handloom and textiles — Jamdani, Muslin, Nakshi Kantha
• 🎨 Handicrafts — pottery, leather goods, jute products
• 🎤 Music and performing arts
• 🎬 Film and media
• 💻 IT and software
• 🎨 Design and fashion
• 📚 Publishing
• 🎲 Gaming and digital content

🏦 Karmasangsthan Bank: Micro-Enterprise Finance Fund

💬 The finance minister said the bank has begun serving people who are otherwise reluctant to approach banks for loans.

💬 “The Karmasangsthan Bank has started its journey with those people who are afraid to go to banks for taking loans,” he said.

📊 He noted that grants extended to low-income borrowers in the past had often failed to achieve their purpose because there was no obligation to repay. He hoped that under the pilot project of Karmasangsthan Bank, beneficiaries would be helped to:

• 🎓 Improve their skills
• 💰 Increase their incomes
• 💰 Repay their loans

💬 Economic Mainstreaming Essential

💬 The finance minister said that unless this segment of the population is brought into the economic mainstream, the economy cannot expand. This statement underscores the government’s recognition that:

• 👥 Inclusive growth requires formal financial inclusion
• 💰 Credit access for marginal communities drives economic expansion
• 🎓 Skills development is prerequisite for productive employment
• 🌏 Market access for creative products generates export revenue

📊 Karmasangsthan Bank NPL Target

📊 The finance minister also said Karmasangsthan Bank’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio:

• ⚠ Currently above 4.0 per cent
• 📈 Target: bring down to 2.0 per cent

📊 This NPL reduction target reflects the government’s broader commitment to improving financial discipline across the banking sector — from state banks (Tk 1.47T in NPLs) to micro-enterprise lenders like Karmasangsthan Bank.

🌏 Strategic Context: Bangladesh Creative Economy

📊 For Bangladesh’s economic diversification strategy, the 3% creative economy GDP target represents a meaningful ambition:

• 📊 Current creative economy share — likely below 1% of GDP
• 📊 3% target — would represent ~$15-18 billion in economic value
• 📊 Global creative economy — estimated at $2.2+ trillion
• 📊 Thailand creative economy — ~10% of GDP (cited by Khosru)
• 📊 Bangladesh advantage — rich cultural heritage, 170M population, growing middle class
• 📊 LDC graduation alignment — creative economy less dependent on trade preferences

📋 Implications for Bangladesh Export Community

📊 For Bangladesh’s export community, the creative economy push offers several opportunities:

• 🧵 Handloom exports — Jamdani, Muslin, Nakshi Kantha have global demand
• 🎨 Handicraft exports — jute products, pottery, leather goods
• 💻 IT/software exports — growing freelance and BPO sector
• 🎬 Content exports — film, music, gaming, digital content
• 🎨 Fashion exports — branded Bangladeshi fashion for global market
• 🌏 Cultural tourism — heritage-based tourism experiences

💰 Government Support Framework

📊 The government’s creative economy support framework includes:

• 🎓 Skills training — through Karmasangsthan Bank and other institutions
• 🎨 Design support — product development assistance
• 💰 Micro-enterprise finance — credit for creative entrepreneurs
• 🌏 Branding and marketing — international market access
• 🏛 Mainstreaming model — bringing marginal communities into formal economy

✅ For Bangladesh’s broader economic strategy, the 3% creative economy GDP target represents an important step toward economic diversification beyond RMG. By investing in skills, design, branding and marketing for creative economy participants — particularly marginal communities whose products have international market potential — the government is building the foundation for a more diversified, inclusive and resilient economy that can sustain growth even as Bangladesh navigates LDC graduation and the associated loss of trade preferences in traditional export markets.

🌏 For the micro-enterprise and creative economy community, the Karmasangsthan Bank finance fund offers a pathway from informal to formal economic participation — with skills development, credit access and marketing support that could transform traditional craftspeople into export-oriented creative entrepreneurs. The coming years will reveal whether Bangladesh can replicate the Thai model of village-based creative production for global markets — and whether the 3% GDP target can be achieved through the combination of skills, design, finance and marketing support that the finance minister outlined.