Bangladesh’s socio-economic achievements and innovative solutions have gained global recognition, fostering the establishment of social business enterprises. With a focus on sustainability and a significant informal economy, young Bangladeshis are launching creative ventures that provide valuable insights across various economic sectors. Impact investment and blended finance offer exciting opportunities to achieve positive, measurable returns in sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, climate, clean energy, technology, and infrastructure. As Bangladesh develops its policy frameworks and digitizes rapidly, the potential for impactful ventures is particularly promising. Notably, within a ten-kilometer radius in Bangladesh, one can reach one million people.

As the traditional approach to development finance shifts towards an investment model, foreign impact investors and advisors, such as Truvalu, Incluvest, IIX Singapore, Roots of Impact, and One to Watch, are increasingly exploring Bangladesh as a focal point for investing in impactful businesses. Currently, there are around fifteen active impact investors in Bangladesh, with a total deployed capital of US$ 955 million. Organizations like IFC, FMO (Dutch Development Bank), Swiss Development Corporation (SDC), British International Investment (BII), BRAC, and Sajida Foundation, both local and international, are working towards incorporating impact investing into their programmatic interventions.

This panel aims to raise awareness among businesses, investors, financial institutions, and policymakers about impact creation, measurement, and management. It seeks to mobilize greater impact investment for Bangladesh and provide a platform for early starters to share their impact investing journey. The panel will also explore attractive strategies for launching potential impact ventures in Bangladesh.