Some businesses need 31 licences, two years to launch: BUILD

Businesses in some sectors need nearly two years and over 30 licences to start operations, a study by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) has found, exposing regulatory bottlenecks that continue to discourage formalisation.

Based on more than 50 key informant interviews, the study found that firms in the plastic waste management sector require up to 31 licences, more than 235 documents, and around 650 days to secure regulatory approvals.

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Light engineering businesses need about 30 licences, over 200 documents, and up to 600 days for approvals. Around 50-60 percent of the required paperwork is duplicated across government agencies, adding to compliance costs.

The findings were presented yesterday 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.

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 data, she said about 65 percent of the country’s economic units remain informal, despite registered enterprises accounting for more than half of total employment.

To ease the burden, BUILD proposed introducing a Single Digital Business Identity Number, a one-stop licensing platform, multi-year licence validity, and harmonised data sharing among government agencies.

The reforms could reduce compliance costs by 30-50 percent, according to the organisation.

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 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 a unified utility connection application system, joint inspections by government agencies, and 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.

Peter Jr Bellen, chief technical officer of the ILO country office for Bangladesh, said 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.