Unifying Bangladesh’s investment landscape: Why BSCIC is indispensable for inclusive growth and global competitiveness

Executive Summary: A Call for Strategic Inclusion

Bangladesh stands on the cusp of becoming a regional manufacturing powerhouse by 2035. To reach this goal, the government plans to merge existing investment promotion agencies (IPAs) into a unified "one-stop" authority, simplifying processes and attracting foreign direct investment. This is an ambitious and laudable vision, but it contains a critical oversight: the apparent sidelining of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC). Excluding BSCIC from the merger would be a strategic misstep that severs the new investment agency from decades of domestic industrial development.

BSCIC is the nation's first industrial promotion body (established in 1957) and has nurtured countless small and cottage industries from the ground up. Its vast grassroots network and training programs have built the very foundation of Bangladesh's industrial base. Ignoring BSCIC means ignoring rural entrepreneurs, handicrafts, and the thousands of small firms that feed the broader economy. A "one-stop entity" that omits this sector would create a two-tiered system favouring large foreign projects while domestic entrepreneurs remain fragmented. In short, sidelining BSCIC jeopardizes inclusive growth, deepens regional inequality, and undermines national resilience.

This write-up argues passionately that BSCIC must be fully and strategically integrated into the proposed Investment Promotion Agency (IPA). Doing so will preserve Bangladesh's hard-won industrial gains, strengthen supply chains, and unlock new FDI opportunities for homegrown clusters. Otherwise, the dream of balanced prosperity—bringing wealth to both city and countryside—will remain out of reach.

Bangladesh's Industrial Foundation: The Enduring Legacy of BSCIC

The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) was established with a vision for an independent Bangladesh's economy. It was the nation's first government organization dedicated solely to industrial promotion. From the start, BSCIC's mandate was comprehensive: to support small, rural, and cottage industries (SCIs) nationwide. In its early years, BSCIC even directly imported and distributed machinery and raw materials, provided loans, and offered hand-holding guidance on project design and installation. Unlike later IPAs focused on big investors, BSCIC literally built the fabric of Bangladesh's industry from the ground up.

This founding legacy ties BSCIC deeply to Bangladesh's industrial identity. Excluding BSCIC from a new investment authority would 'sever the new entity from its historical roots and the national economic base,' effectively privileging foreign capital at the expense of indigenous capacity. In other words, we would lose the bedrock of our entrepreneurial history. Any balanced growth strategy must honour the institutions that created that history.

A Nationwide Network for Grassroots Development: What makes BSCIC truly unique is its unparalleled reach. Today, BSCIC operates 82 industrial estates across the country, providing 'doorstep services' to entrepreneurs in far-flung regions.. The explicit goal of BSCIC's is to expand a competitive industrial sector globally by enhancing human resources, creating employment opportunities, and alleviating poverty.  This network already stands as a proven engine of rural prosperity, not an abstract policy goal.

Consider the success stories spawned by BSCIC's estates: pharmaceutical companies like Square Pharmaceuticals (Pabna) and Radiant Pharma (Tongi) grew out of these zones, producing high-value medicines. Heavy electrical and battery firms — BRB Cables (Kushtia) and Hamko Battery (Khulna) — became national players. Manufacturing hubs such as National Fan (Tongi), Kader Synthetic (Konabari), and the hosiery cluster in Narayanganj power our textile and consumer goods sectors. Even heritage industries and agro-processing have flourished: the BSCIC Jamdani Inustrial Estate, (commonly known as Jamdani village/palli) Narayan­ganj preserves our national weave, while Pran-RFL (Rangpur) drives food processing to household items to electric items. In Rajshahi, Sopura Silk showcases a regional craft, and in Barisal, enterprises like Sareng Furniture and Fortune Shoes have pushed furniture and footwear manufacturing. Apart from these BSCIC estates in Kalurghat (Chittagong), Noakhali, Feni, Cumilla, Bogura, Mymensingh, Nilphamari and Jeshore are flourishing with their respective regional and in some cases global potential.

These examples underscore BSCIC's critical contributions across sectors. Each estate comes with infrastructure, utilities, and local know-how, meaning new investors enter a tested ecosystem. In fact, while agencies like BEZA talk about "balanced industrialisation," BSCIC already has the infrastructure, local knowledge, and relationships to deliver it nationwide. Integrating BSCIC into the unified agency effectively hands the government a pre-existing mechanism for regional outreach and SME development. This will help prevent the economic disparities seen in other FDI-driven economies — for example, Vietnam's major investments have largely gravitated to big cities. In short, BSCIC's history and network form the bedrock of Bangladesh's industrial development, and any merger that ignores it would collapse the foundation of our growth model.

BSCIC's Grassroots Network: Empowering CMSME Entrepreneurs

The power of BSCIC lies not just in concrete and factories, but in its people. BSCIC is explicitly focused on nurturing entrepreneurs and artisans in every corner of Bangladesh. It runs a suite of training centres — including Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) across 64 districts, BSCIC Training Institute, BTI  ( previously SCITI) and 15 skill development centres — which have trained hundreds of thousands of men and women in industrial and craft skills. A Design Centre supplies new product templates, and BSCIC staff even help identify potential entrepreneurs and guide them through business planning. This kind of grassroots entrepreneurship cultivation is unique; no other agency matches BSCIC's focus on human capital building at the bottom of the pyramid.

The impact is enormous. The SCI sector sustains millions of Bangladeshis: some 830,000 small and cottage units employ over 29 million workers, with more than half of those jobs in rural areas, according to a survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). These enterprises are vital for livelihoods, poverty reduction, and social stability outside the big cities. Yet despite this weight, BSCIC-trained entrepreneurs are being sidelined in the merger plan.

This would be a disaster for innovation and skills. BSCIC's alumni form a readily available talent pool with practical training. They are precisely the kind of domestic SMEs that multinational firms need as suppliers, subcontractors, and R&D partners. Indeed, FDI-driven technology transfer succeeds only if local enterprises have the absorptive capacity to use it. Thanks to BSCIC, Bangladesh has a cluster of trained entrepreneurs and technicians ready to absorb new tech. Remove BSCIC's support, and that pool dries up: hundreds of thousands of motivated local businesses would lack a clear pathway to financing or knowledge. As one analyst warns, leaving BSCIC out of the picture would create 'losers' in the very system meant to uplift all stakeholders. In short, BSCIC is the engine that turns training into industrial growth. Any unification plan that ignores these people not only betrays national investment in human capital, but also handicaps Bangladesh's long-run competitiveness.

The Proposed Merger: Streamlining vs. Imbalance

The drive to consolidate agencies is understandable. BIDA — now Bangladesh's lead investment agency — envisions merging BEZA (economic zones), BEPZA (export zones), BHTPA (tech parks) into a central Investment Promotion Agency. The goal is a simplified, single-window interface for investors, and a shift toward market-led growth. This strategy mirrors global trends: for example, Vietnam revamped its investment laws and incentives to streamline FDI inflows. A centralized IPA can speed project approvals and cut red tape.

But the merger can only be truly one-stop if it embraces all segments of the economy. BSCIC's apparent exclusion is therefore a paradox. In practice, BIDA's own guidelines already bar companies in BSCIC estates from its direct services — hardly a streamlined solution for the entrepreneurs who own those companies. Worse, some policymakers seem to assume that BSCIC is peripheral to "core" FDI strategy. If the unification proceeds this way, the new authority will inevitably skew toward large-scale, foreign investments while the domestic base is sidelined.

Such an outcome would lay the groundwork for a two-tiered system. Foreign investors would glide through one channel of the IPA, enjoying incentives and hassle-free facilitation, while native SMEs develop and nurtured by BSCIC — the true bedrock of Bangladesh remain stuck in the old, fragmented bureaucracies. This fragmentation directly contradicts the merger's inclusive rhetoric. The reality is that BSCIC's mandate "from its inception" has been domestic investment and industry, even if it has also supported some foreign projects. A genuinely unified IPA must serve all sectors together for the economy to knit itself into one ecosystem. Anything less leaves a gaping hole in policy and practice.

Consequences of Exclusion

The fallout from ignoring BSCIC would be severe and wide-ranging. Among the most immediate risks are:

• Stranded Local Entrepreneurs: Decades of investment by thousands of small entrepreneurs in BSCIC estates would lose a clear link to the new authority. These factory and workshop owners — vital to local economies — would suddenly find themselves outside the streamlined system, with no unified voice or easy recourse to government support. Their growth would stall, and many could collapse under uncertainty.
• Marginalized Innovators: BSCIC has trained and fostered countless aspiring entrepreneurs. If the new agency bypasses them, these local innovators will be shut out of financing, export promotion, and technology programs. Rather than 'losers' benefiting from a growth surge, they would be left behind in a system built for big players. The network of SMEs that anchors Bangladesh's economy would lose its champion.
• Weakened Supply Chains: BSCIC estates anchor major supply chains. Excluding them forces foreign investors to source locally through opaque, disconnected routes. This fragmentation would drive up costs and inefficiencies in sectors like ready-made garments (RMG) and pharmaceuticals. The result: even large factories face higher input costs and reliability issues. For an FDI that expects robust local sourcing, this makes Bangladesh less attractive.
• Rural Decline: Some 56% of all cottage industry units are in rural areas. Excluding BSCIC is therefore a rural calamity: jobs vanish in villages, regional disparities deepen, and poverty reduction reverses. These enterprises are the bedrock of thousands of communities. Without BSCIC's extension services and estate infrastructure, millions of rural workers would lose their livelihoods. Urban centres would swell, and the nation's balanced development promise would evaporate.
• Stunted Industrial Growth: More broadly, neglecting the small industries sector — which accounts for a substantial slice of GDP and manufacturing employment — would slow Bangladesh's entire industrialization drive. FDI cannot achieve manufacturing leadership by itself: it must build on a vibrant local base. Excluding BSCIC means discounting a vital engine of innovation and resilience. In times of global shocks or supply disruptions, only a diversified base of SMEs and local firms can keep the economy afloat. Leaving BSCIC out puts all that at risk.

In sum, the danger is clear: if BSCIC is sidelined, decades of grassroots progress could be erased. The very vision of inclusive growth would be neglected, replaced by a narrow & city-centric model, not very suited to Bangladesh's needs.

BSCIC: Engine of Domestic Resilience and Integrated Supply Chains

BSCIC's strength is its ability to bridge the urban and rural economies, knitting them into one resilient whole. Its estates and programs catalyse regional development in ways most agencies cannot.

• Catalysing Local Economies and Skills

Across Bangladesh, BSCIC has transformed backward areas into industrial hubs. In Rajshahi, for example, BSCIC's estates host new-age firms like IT companies (such as VivaSoft) and craft producers (Sopura Silk), diversifying an economy long centered on major urban hub like Dhaka. In Bogura, BSCIC's estate has seeded a light-engineering cluster, fulfilling the region's latent potential. Local leaders even say Bogura "can replicate China" in machine tools thanks to BSCIC's push.

Perhaps most striking is Sirajganj. BSCIC's 400-acre Sirajganj Shilpo Park has dedicated 180 acres to Chinese investors. This arrangement creates direct international-domestic synergies: Chinese firms bring capital, technology, and skill training to the area, while working side-by-side with Bangladeshi SMEs. Crucially, BSCIC's long-standing presence in Sirajganj means it knows the local business culture and workforce needs. Losing BSCIC would cut off these bridges. As one report emphasizes, BSCIC 'possesses invaluable localized knowledge, infrastructure, and a proven track record' in fostering such domestic-foreign linkages. Removing BSCIC from the picture would break that bridge to regional economies and grassroots innovation, defeating the merger's goal of balanced industrialisation.

In essence, BSCIC acts as a catalyst for bringing growth to all corners of Bangladesh. By guiding foreign and domestic firms to non-traditional areas (instead of just Dhaka/Chittagong), it lays down a foundation of skills and entrepreneurship that makes the nation more adaptive and resilient.

• Backbone of National Supply Chains

Beyond regional development, BSCIC's estates lie at the heart of Bangladesh's major industrial supply chains, especially ready-made garments (RMG). Across Tongi, Konabari, Narayanganj, and Kanchpur — all BSCIC estates — thousands of small factories spin and knit garments that feed into the country's world-renowned RMG sector. These estates employ millions of knitters and seamstresses, producing basic T-shirts, jerseys, briefs and more. Big RMG manufacturers in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur depend on this steady flow of inputs.

Outside apparel, BSCIC clusters support other supply chains. The API Industrial Park in Munshiganj (Baushia) nurtures local pharmaceutical ingredient producers, aiming to replace billions of dollars in imports. The Chemical Industrial Park (Sirajdikhan) will relocate dangerous industries from old Dhaka into a single compliant zone. Future BSCIC estates (printing, etc.) will strengthen printing and packaging supply lines. Even today, small BSCIC firms in Konabari & Tongi make plastic bottles for giants like Unilever.

For foreign investors, these domestic supply chains are golden. Reliable local sourcing reduces risk and cost. A unified IPA that includes BSCIC could offer foreign firms direct access to this industrial ecosystem. In contrast, excluding BSCIC forces investors to navigate an extra layer of bureaucracy just to find suppliers. That friction can deter FDI. Integrating BSCIC means foreign investors gain direct access to these vital domestic supply chains, de-risking FDI and enhancing Bangladesh's attractiveness. Excluding BSCIC would force foreign investors to navigate a separate, opaque domestic supply chain deterring investment.

Indeed, modern development theory shows that investment thrives where global and local value chains link seamlessly. BSCIC ensures that happens here. By fostering local entrepreneurship and strengthening regional hubs, BSCIC lets goods, services, knowledge and capital flow between rural producers and urban factories. This interconnectedness is the engine of a resilient economy. It means that a shock in one city (say a factory fire or supply crunch) can be mitigated by suppliers elsewhere. It means skills transfer and innovation happen bottom-up, not just top-down. In short, BSCIC is the hidden backbone of Bangladesh's manufacturing landscape. A unified agency that fully includes BSCIC would unlock this synergy, making foreign and domestic investment truly complementary.

Export-Ready Sectoral Clusters: BSCIC's Flagship Industries

BSCIC's industrial estates are not just local supply nodes – many house export-ready clusters that already draw international demand. Bringing these sectors under the unified IPA highlights how BSCIC's inclusion would immediately amplify export and FDI potential:

• Shatranji (Rangpur): The BSCIC-supported Shatranji (handwoven carpet) craft is GI-protected and exported to ~40 countries. BSCIC's long-term backing (since 1976) and recent branding efforts (WIPO GI registration) have turned this traditional handicraft into a global niche product. For FDI, Shatranji appeals as an ethical, women-empowering export sector. Foreign designers and marketers could partner with local weavers in BSCIC's Rangpur estates to upgrade quality and scale, capitalizing on Bangladesh's heritage brand.
• Hosiery (Narayanganj): Narayanganj's dedicated BSCIC hosiery estate is a mature export cluster. These factories already export knitwear globally, backed by associations like BKMEA. A foreign investor can plug into this ecosystem with minimal setup – infrastructure, suppliers, and skilled labor are in place. The park dramatically lowers the usual FDI risks of greenfield investment because it is a proven yarn-to-garment hub.
• Jamdani (Narayanganj): BSCIC's "Jamdani Palli" is a government-built 20-acre handloom village with 1,600 weavers working on 407 plots. Jamdani muslin is a world-famous heritage textile, now supported by a BSCIC-operated design and research center. Despite infrastructure challenges and competition from cheap knock-offs, the cluster has enormous export appeal due to its cultural prestige. FDI could modernize Jamdani's value chain (improve access roads, provide fair-wage logistics) and open direct international fashion markets. For example, building the planned Jamdani museum and design institute (slated by the government) with foreign partnership would boost global branding.
• Light Engineering (Nationwide): Bangladesh's light engineering sector (molds, tractors, generators, bicycle parts, etc.) is a basic industry supplying all others. It employs over 300,000 people and has been identified by BIDA as having the 'highest growth prospects.' Industry leaders see exports potentially rising to $100 billion (from only $400–500 million today). BSCIC already established a light engineering estate at Munshiganj.  A unified IPA could attract FDI into special 'light engineering parks,' replicating the success of Korea's tool-making clusters. Foreign capital can bring advanced manufacturing tech and design know-how to Bangladeshi mold-makers, dramatically boosting quality and scale.
• Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API, Munshiganj): Recognizing that 85% of APIs are currently imported (a $1.3B annual import bill), the government has prioritized domestic API production. BSCIC's response: a 200-acre API Industrial Park at Baushia, Munshiganj. It will host 42 units with world-class infrastructure: a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) and waste management facilities are already in place. The incentives are huge: 100% tax holidays for key molecules, plus generous export subsidies for API and medicines. These measures (some lasting until 2032) make the park very attractive for foreign pharma investors seeking a base to serve regulated markets. In short, BSCIC's API cluster is a prime "build and export" opportunity. Foreign players bring technology and joint-venture funds, and in return help Bangladesh climb up the global pharma value chain.
• Chemical (Munshiganj): BSCIC is constructing a massive 300-acre Chemical Industrial Park (Sirajdikhan) to relocate hazardous industries from Dhaka. Driven by safety concerns (e.g. the 2019 Churihatta fire), this park will include advanced infrastructure: 100-foot-spaced fire hydrants, a dedicated fire station, a large effluent treatment plant and even an incinerator. Such features are rare in South Asia's chemical zones and will be mandatory for any serious chemical or fertilizer foreign investment. Indeed, the park signals a strong government commitment to world-class standards. Although still under development, it offers FDI the chance to shape Bangladesh's chemical sector transformation. Investors could, for example, expedite plot development or introduce eco-innovations, knowing that the park's large scale and safety focus unlock export-market access.
• Printing (Munshiganj): BSCIC plans a 50-acre Printing Industrial Estate in Sirajdikhan, relocating Dhaka's congested printing presses for safety and efficiency. Globally, printing and packaging are booming: China is even moving out of pulp and paper due to rising costs and environmental rules. Bangladesh already exports paper and printed goods to 50+ countries, and a 10% cash incentive exists for this sector. The government calls printing "potentially the second-highest foreign exchange earner" after RMG. But the industry today suffers from over-taxation (61% duty on inputs), loan barriers, and lease abuses. This is a clear greenfield FDI opportunity: foreign paper and ink makers can set up capital-intensive production in the BSCIC estate, benefiting from the zone's complete utilities. By reducing current policy hurdles (e.g. lowering duties) and injecting foreign technology, Bangladesh could transform this high-potential cluster into a global export hub.

Each of these examples shows a BSCIC-supported cluster that is already integrated into global markets or poised to expand. Foreign investors seeking manufacturing opportunities would be hard-pressed to find better footholds than these estates – all under BSCIC's guidance. The very existence of these export-ready sectors underscores why BSCIC's involvement in a unified investment agency is not optional. Rather, its assets must be leveraged to attract and sustain FDI, rather than left outside the door.

Global Insights and Lessons: Balancing FDI with Domestic Growth

Bangladesh's ambition to "replicate China" invites a look at how other Asian economies married SME growth with foreign investment. Several lessons stand out:

• China: China's manufacturing success rests on cluster development and tight SME–MNC linkages. Its model encourages subcontracting, franchising, and joint ventures between large firms and small local suppliers. The result is a networked ecosystem where international firms are deeply embedded in local value chains. For Bangladesh, BSCIC's 82 industrial estates are already our version of these industrial clusters. By integrating BSCIC, we can similarly set up supply-chain linkages (for example through contract manufacturing) that pull foreign investment into local SME networks. Leaving BSCIC out would mean missing the chance to mirror China's symbiosis.
• Vietnam: Vietnam shows that savvy policies and incentives (Tax laws, growth incentives) can rapidly attract FDI. Its electronics sector, for example, now exhibits solid technology spillovers. However, Vietnam also serves as a cautionary tale: FDI in Vietnam concentrated overwhelmingly in major cities and industrial parks, widening urban-rural gaps. Without countervailing measures, this could have left many regions behind. Bangladesh can learn from both sides of Vietnam's experience. The government has indeed introduced reforms, but to avoid the same inequality trap, it needs BSCIC's network. Integrating BSCIC ensures that FDI-linked skills and investments spread beyond Dhaka to places like Rangpur and Khulna.
• India: India's MSME policies explicitly connect small industries with FDI. Programs like "One District One Product" (ODOP) mandate that zones source inputs from local MSMEs and even give procurement preference to small firms (including those led by women or disadvantaged groups). This domestic-first mindset has helped India build inclusive industrial clusters. BSCIC's philosophy and structure fit perfectly with this approach. For instance, BSCIC's development of a light-engineering hub in Bogura mirrors ODOP's mission of regional specialization. By fully including BSCIC, Bangladesh can institutionalize the very kind of domestic linkage programs that India has piloted, ensuring foreign capital complements, not crowds out, local enterprise.
• South Korea: South Korea's rise rests on dual incentives: it aggressively wooed foreign investors in high-tech fields, while simultaneously nurturing its startup and SME sector. It offered steep tax reductions to new tech SMEs and expanded subsidies for foreign R&D in semiconductors, biotech, etc.. These policies recognized that SMEs are essential innovation reservoirs and technology absorbers. Bangladesh could emulate this by leveraging BSCIC. For example, a unified IPA could implement a "dual incentive" scheme — giving tax holidays to both foreign semiconductor investors and to Bangladeshi start-ups in semiconductors — ensuring they co-locate and cooperate. In fact, BSCIC's role in budding IT clusters (like Rajshahi) is a natural platform for such incentives. Integrating BSCIC means the IPA can roll out coordinated packages that bind FDI to local entrepreneurship, just as Korea did.

Each of these cases illustrates a common truth: Inclusive industrial growth requires deliberate integration of FDI with domestic SMEs. The danger of concentrating investment only in cities or zones is well-documented. What China, India, Vietnam, and South Korea all teach us is that policies must explicitly empower small firms alongside MNCs. In Bangladesh's context, that integration hinge is BSCIC. Ignoring it would be to turn our back on these proven lessons.

Policy Recommendations: A Blueprint for Inclusive Growth

To realize a truly unified investment ecosystem that benefits all Bangladeshis, we offer the following actionable recommendations:

• Mandate Full Integration of BSCIC: Ensure BSCIC's complete inclusion in the unified investment authority. Its mandate to support small and cottage industries must be preserved and strengthened. This prevents the kind of fragmentation that would "suffer" established and trained entrepreneurs.
• Leverage BSCIC's Regional Network for Balanced Growth: Use BSCIC's 82 industrial estates as the primary vehicle for equitable industrialization. With these assets, the unified agency can distribute investment benefits across the country, avoiding excessive urban concentration and protecting the rural economy.
• Forge Robust Domestic–International Linkages: Empower the merged authority to actively promote backward and forward linkages between foreign investors and BSCIC-supported local SMEs. By facilitating joint ventures, subcontracting, and shared R&D (as seen in China and Vietnam), FDI will stimulate local production and embed Bangladesh's businesses into global value chains.
• Strengthen Human Capital Development: Expand BSCIC's proven entrepreneurship and skill-development programs under the unified body. Keep training institutes (SCITI, etc.) at the core, so that a continuous pipeline of skilled workers and innovators is ready to absorb new technologies. This maximizes FDI "spillover" effects and ensures that trained entrepreneurs are not left behind.
• Implement Inclusive Incentives: Craft a dual incentive framework (drawing on South Korea and India) that attracts large-scale FDI and directly supports domestic SMEs. For example, offer tax breaks or subsidies to foreign investors contingent on partnering with local firms, or extend matching R&D credits to Bangladeshi startups in strategic sectors. This ensures all economic segments thrive together.
• Reform Governance: Address the operational issues raised by BSCIC's own audits (such as underutilized land plots and inefficient allocations) by instituting oversight under the unified authority. Establish clear accountability (audit and executive committees, digital tracking of land use, etc.) so that BSCIC's expanded mandate is managed efficiently.
• Accelerate Digital Integration: Incorporate BSCIC's extensive databases of domestic industries into the IPA's digital platforms. A comprehensive "FDI Heatmap" should highlight BSCIC cluster locations, capabilities and needs alongside foreign investment projects. This transparency will guide investors to discover local partners and untapped opportunities at a glance.

These reforms are not merely bureaucratic. They are the keys to unlocking inclusive prosperity. If we fail to align incentives, skills, and market linkages across all levels of industry, then the merger will disproportionately empower only one part of the economy. Conversely, a unified IPA that fully integrates BSCIC can become a powerhouse for balanced growth – knitting together the strengths of big and small, urban and rural, local and global.

Conclusion: Preserving Bangladesh's Identity and Resilience

The proposed consolidation of Bangladesh's investment promotion agencies is a momentous opportunity for national progress. But it will only yield its full promise if it embraces the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation as a vital partner. BSCIC is not an outdated relic; it is a forward-looking institution whose nationwide network, entrepreneurial talent base, and embedded supply chains are already driving industrial growth. Ignoring BSCIC would 'severely fragment' the investment landscape and impede balanced national development.

BSCIC has faced challenges at several fronts. But these issues should be addressed through integration and reform, not by exclusion. Bringing BSCIC into the new authority (with new leadership and resources) offers the best path to fixing its problems: wasted land can be reallocated efficiently, training programs can be modernized, and local entrepreneurs can gain visibility in a bigger marketplace.

Crucially, BSCIC embodies Bangladesh's industrial identity. Its handloom weavers, rubber-processors, garment-knitters and machinery-makers reflect our cultural heritage and ingenuity. If BSCIC is sidelined, we risk losing the soul of our economy — and along with it, national resilience. An economy built only on a few zones or multinational plants is fragile; one rooted in thousands of villages and towns is robust. To truly weather global shocks and deliver inclusive prosperity, Bangladesh needs both.

Ultimately, the future of our nation's investment climate hinges on one strategic decision: will we include or exclude BSCIC? A one-sided focus on FDI without domestic foundations cannot fulfil Bangladesh's aspirations. As one expert puts it, the dream of an "investment heaven" will not materialize if local entrepreneurs are not brought to the forefront. By contrast, fully integrating BSCIC into the unified agency will merge foreign and domestic investors into a cohesive ecosystem. This is the only way to honour Bangladesh's decades-long commitment to its small and cottage industries while attracting the capital that fuels our growth.

We urge policymakers, BIDA's leadership, and all stakeholders to heed this call: rethink the current plan and make BSCIC an integral part of the new investment authority. The stakes are high — the livelihoods of millions of Bangladeshis, the future of rural regions, and the very ethos of our industrial progress depend on this choice. In including BSCIC, Bangladesh will strengthen its industrial identity, bolster national resilience, and ensure that the coming wave of prosperity truly reaches every corner of the country.

Shahjahan Ali, currently working as an officer at BSCIC. He can be reached at: shahjahanir@gmail.com

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.