Bangladesh

About Our Work in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, we work with civil society organizations, religious and secular leaders, the private sector, and government to address development challenges. We advance women's economic empowerment through digital and financial inclusion initiatives, promote inclusive policymaking through coalition advocacy, foster social harmony through early warning alerts to religious-based and other violence, and enhance early learning through country-wide access to children's books. Our climate change initiatives support women activists and political economy analysis of climate risks and pollution threats.

Country Overview

Contact Information

Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj

Country Representative, Bangladesh

Address and Contact

House #5, Road #8 Baridhara
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

[email protected]

+880 (2) 4108-1821

What We Do

Covid-19 impact on Bangladesh garment industry

Bangladesh’s economy has historically been dependent on the garment industry. The Covid-19 outbreak resulted in Bangladesh losing its position as the world’s second-largest apparel exporter.

Previously employing 3.6 million people, the industry’s collapse demonstrates the vulnerabilities of its economy. In 2020, our partnership with H&M Foundation successfully coordinated disaster relief for female garment workers and upskilled workers to adapt and succeed in a shifting economy.

Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth program

In spite of Bangladesh’s impressive growth in recent decades, over 40 million people still live below the poverty line.

Many question if the growth has been “inclusive” and helped generate large-scale productive employment for the growing number of citizens entering the labor force each year. To increase evidence-based dialogue on inclusive growth, The Asia Foundation and the Overseas Development Institute, with support from the UK Department for International Development, are implementing the Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth Program in coordination with the General Economics Division of the Planning Commission. In addition to quarterly workshops, the project will produce six thematic research reports to support specific policy recommendations.

Our work in inclusive growth

Bangladesh’s RMG sector employs over 4 million people, about 80 percent of whom are women from rural communities. Above, a plants in a garment factory promote a greener work environment. Photo/BGMEA

Development Letters

Development Letters is a quarterly peer-reviewed periodical focusing on bringing together issues, ideas, and approaches that can be researched, refined, experimented with, and investigated further. This periodical intends to advance innovative research and intervention ideas so that analytical work and evidence can meaningfully lead to practical actions and maximize developmental impact.

Read more

Staff in Bangladesh

Mission-driven and multidisciplinary, our staff bring a broad range of talents and backgrounds to their work every day.

View all Asia Foundation staff

Ainee Islam

Program Director, Bangladesh
Helga Fraser

Senior Manager, Human Resource and Administration, Bangladesh
Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj

Country Representative, Bangladesh
MD Zakaria

Program Director, South Asia Governance Fund, Bangladesh
Mir Junayed Jamal

Director, Peri
Mohammad Kamrul Hasan Bhuiyan

Director, Finance, Grants and Administration, Bangladesh
Mohammad Sadat Sadruddin Shibli

Program Director, Bangladesh
Sukla Dey

Senior Program Manager