It's no big secret that setting up a new business in Bangladesh is not exactly the smoothest or easiest of endeavours. Our nation has historically fared poorly when it comes to the ease of doing business, usually due to the unchecked corruption and needless bureaucracy which are endemic to our various government agencies associated with commerce.
However, despite all the red tape, Bangladesh still hosts a vibrant start-up culture which has slowly but steadily displayed that it is more than capable of filling in the numerous market gaps to cater to locals. But clearly their potential is being hampered.
It is somewhat assuring that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently expressed her government's support to the nation's business community. But words are meaningless unless they translate into action. The various bottlenecks which plague the government agencies concerned with businesses setting up shop need to be rooted out.
Moreover, as a developing nation, Bangladesh needs to realize the importance of both attracting and maintaining foreign investment, which requires an environment that allows foreign companies to easily and effortlessly set up shop on our shores.
Since the discontinuation of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index, it has been harder to gauge exactly where Bangladesh falls. But relying on indexes to solve our problems should not be the way -- the government needs to actively listen to the business community and work together to improve Bangladesh's business climate through a collaborative approach.
Our country still has a long way to go before we can make our business environment compliant with international standards. But it is not an unattainable dream.