Overview
The IFC Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund is a technical assistance program targeting a better operating environment for businesses. Funded by the U.K.’s Department for International Development and the European Union, the program is managed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Its objectives are consistent with the Bangladesh government’s strategic vision for private sector development within its poverty reduction strategy. Government agencies and IFC BICF—in close collaboration with the key stakeholders in Bangladesh—jointly design and implement programs to institute business friendly policies, laws and regulations, and strengthen the institutions that implement them.
The Government of Bangladesh, in its Poverty Reduction Strategy, recognizes that economic growth must be driven by the private sector, and has begun to make progress towards improving the business environment. But deeper and wider reforms are needed to allow business to operate efficiently, keep Bangladesh competitive, and create the jobs that will reduce poverty.
Investment Climate
The need for investment climate reform in Bangladesh, a country where 42% of its 140 million people live in extreme poverty, is severe. Weak infrastructure, corruption, and the overall regulatory burden were cited in the 2003 World Bank Investment Climate Assessment of Bangladesh as the largest barriers to private sector development. These findings are also reflected in IFC’s Doing Business Report (Bangladesh ranks 167/175 for registering land and 134/175 for trading across borders) and in the Kaufmann and annual Transparency International Surveys. Such an investment climate is poorly positioned to drive the significant private sector contribution needed for sustained poverty reduction. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) recognizes that serious constraints to its investment climate exist. In line with its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, the GoB has committed itself to improving its investment climate in order to enable its private sector to drive the economy. In response to these issues, the GoB requested technical assistance from the IFC which then launched the Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) in March 2007.
Strategy | Contacts
