Shehzad Munim, Managing Director, British American Tobacco Bangladesh

Even the best initiatives run the risk of going south for the lack of a good strategy.

While the significance of strategic outlook in taking macro-level decisions has been emphasized in the corporate literature of developed nations, its relevance to sustainable business or economic growth is yet to be fully appreciated in developing countries.

There is no doubt that Bangladesh has embarked on a revolutionary phase of remarkable infrastructural development that is enviable for most. Be its graduation from the list of Least Developed Countries (LDC) in 2026 onto middle-income status to its ambition of being a developed economy by 2041 – the future is bright, to say the least.

A bit of introspection would reveal that we are not the first country to walk this path. The four original Asian Tigers – Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan – and more recently, the likes of Malaysia and Vietnam have experienced immense economic development fuelled by exports, rapid industrialisation, and innovation-led technology being utilised to the fullest. Bangladesh does have multiple examples of successful case studies to take inspiration from.

Let’s Take the Case of South Korea

South Korea, currently the fourth largest economy in Asia, has experienced one of the biggest economic transformations in the past few decades. It started as an agriculture-based economy in the 1960s and transformed into the 10th largest economy in the world, in terms of nominal GDP, according to IMF. How did they achieve such stupendous success? It was primarily by focusing on their strengths and optimising their resources to build capacity.

From small industries, South Korea wanted to move into mega industries. The Koreans wanted to restructure their economy with manufacturing at its heart. As a result, they created a proposal to set up the first Korean steel mill. The finances were hard to come by and everyone thought that this would be a bad investment. World Bank denied loans to South Korea because they believed that the project was unviable. However, the nation went ahead with the project anyway, and it turned out to be a mega success.

Within no time, South Korea became the 4th largest producer of steel in the entire world. This was a commendable feat because Korea had arrived six decades late to the steel industry scene and yet was able to overtake many established competitors in no time. The three lows of low-interest rates, low dollar rates, and low oil rates contributed immensely to the emergence of South Korea’s steel industry.

This was a huge confidence boost for the country, which later sought to build brands that resonate with the global audience. Case in point would be the likes of Samsung, LG, and Hyundai, among others. What South Korea essentially did was, instead of building the capacity to play a subsidiary role to other brands, they created something that had its own global presence. In 2020, South Korea logged a trade surplus in intellectual property rights relating to arts and culture for the first time, a trend that continued in 2021, according to the Bank of Korea. For example, the rise of K-pop has brought forth the Korean wave or the propagation of Korean music worldwide, which has boosted the South Korean economy by injecting $9.48 billion in exports.

The difference between South Korea and Vietnam is that the latter houses sweatshops that manufacture for household names such as Nike, Adidas, and so forth but fails to register huge margins in their financials. On the other hand, the former not only produces these products but also reaps all the benefits of building brands that dominate the global market.

Like South Korea, India has also harnessed its resources and created a competitive edge in the software industry that gives Silicon Valley a run for their money.

Where Do We Stand?

If we are to use a comparative lens, Bangladesh too manufactures readymade garments for some of the biggest brands in the world. But much like Vietnam, we fail to capitalise on the exorbitant margins these brands make while our labour toils hard to make ends meet.

Thankfully, Bangladesh is at the crossroads where we have the luxury to take stock of our resources at hand, learn from others, and prepare a strategy that works best for us. We have been boasting our demographic dividend with a young population that is agile and capable enough to propel our country towards a higher growth trajectory.

Having entered industries that have been previously dominated by the West, Bangladesh has been able to earn 136 million in the 2019-20 fiscal year alone by exporting medicines to about 147 countries around the world. At present, the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is trying to capture about 10% of the world market. Six organisations of the country have already been able to get approval from the top regulatory bodies like World Health Organization (WHO), WTO, and WIPO. If we can continue this growth momentum, we will be considered as the benchmark for other aspiring nations to follow.

The pandemic has been an eye-opener of sorts for us, enabling us to capitalise on our potential in many new sectors. Bangladesh has six lakh IT service exporters or freelancers, and the number of team-based freelancing companies hover around 1,600. Together, they fetch roughly $500 million annually. Experts believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and with continued patronage from the government, this may well usher in a new era for the country.

Towards A Better Tomorrow

If we are to emulate the success of South Korea or other developed nations and materialise the honourable Prime Minister’s dream of a developed Bangladesh by 2041, we need to change our attitude. We need to harness self-belief and be bold, believing the fact that our local talent is as good as any other country, if not better.

We must build on our heritage, our legacies, our strengths—things that define who we are as a people, as a nation. And we must have the courage and confidence to take it to the world. Be it reviving muslin, nurturing our jute industry, or for that matter, investing in our local tech giants who are showing promising results, which might provide the competitive edge in building brands that have global appeal.

Make no mistake; the journey will not be an easy one. We must identify the right potential, invest in our people and set suitable regulatory frameworks, and create a conducive ecosystem for local industries to prosper in order to ensure that the competitive edge we are seeking is one that contributes to the sustainable development of the country. And this would certainly require strategic thinking.

As we move towards building a future-fit economy, diversifying our export portfolio will pay dividends, but we must also consider the fact that our domestic market is growing. The burden of building capability and achieving self-sufficiency does not fall on the government alone but on the private sector and large industries as well. Alongside the growing domestic market lies the potential of an ever-increasing diaspora of Bangladeshi communities living abroad, who can not only support local brands but help in popularising them to the world, helping our flag-bearers venture into new destinations.

Crafting a strategy for the future will, therefore, depend on how well we think locally and also act globally to pave the path toward A Better Tomorrow.