Business Desk:
With the aim of transforming Bangladesh’s investment services into a unified and fully digital platform, the new version of the Banglabiz platform, Banglabiz 2.0 (https://banglabiz.gov.bd/), was officially launched today (February 1, 2026) by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). With this, Bangladesh has taken another step forward in building a single, complete and digital investment services platform for investors.
The first version of Banglabiz was launched on September 28, 2025 as an information-based portal. At that time, a single digital gateway was created for investors by connecting the existing One Stop Service (OSS) portals of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) and Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC).
In continuation of this, the second version of BanglaBiz (BanglaBiz–Phase 2) was launched at a function organized at BIDA office in Agargaon, Dhaka today. The function was attended by domestic and foreign business representatives, government officials and development partners. At that time, the main functionalities of the new version and the process of receiving investment services were presented live.
The process of starting and running a business has been made easier and more time-saving for investors through the new facilities added to BanglaBiz 2.0. The five main approvals required to start a business under the new ‘Business Starter Package’ are; Name clearance, temporary bank account opening, company registration, e-TIN and trade license can be completed through a single application. As a result, investors can complete the business registration process in just three working days.
In addition, more than 20 widely used business approvals including Environmental Clearance Certificate, VAT Registration, Factory and Fire Safety License, Import and Export Registration Certificate (IRC and ERC) have been directly integrated into the BanglaBiz platform, so that investors can manage all the necessary approval processes from one place.
Through BanglaBiz’s new ‘Know Your Approvals (KYA)’ feature, investors can identify in advance which documents are mandatory to submit for approvals according to the relevant sector. If necessary, they can contact the Relationship Manager (RM) for assistance in availing the service.
This version also adds BanglaBiz ID (BBID), which will act as a unique business identification number. Through this, business profile management, information sharing and progress of applications submitted to various agencies can be easily tracked. In the future, it will lay the foundation for the introduction of Unique Business ID (UBID) at the national level. In addition, the Single Sign-On (SSO) facility will enable seamless access to BanglaBiz and the OSS systems of various related organizations using a single login.
The event was attended by the Chief Guest, Mr. Lutfe Siddiqui, Special Envoy for International Affairs of the Principal Advisor. The Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, Saida Shinichi, participated as the guest of honor. In his speech as the Chief Guest, Mr. Lutfe Siddiqui said that to digitize government services, they must be user-centric and completely digital from start to finish. At the same time, it is important to simplify unnecessary and complex processes and eliminate them wherever possible.
Speaking as the special guest at the event, Mr. Tomohide Ichiguchi, Head of JICA Bangladesh Office, said that investors have been demanding transparent, fast and predictable government services for a long time, and BanglaBiz is a practical and effective solution to that demand. BanglaBiz will transform Bangladesh’s investment environment into a world-class ecosystem by integrating business registration and approval processes into an online system. He also said that JICA will continue to support Bangladesh in building an investment-friendly, transparent and predictable business environment.
Speaking at the event, BIDA Executive Chairman Ashiq Chowdhury said that investors need a fixed timeline, transparent workflow and a reliable platform to get things done. Therefore, BanglaBiz is being developed as a multi-agency service portal, which will significantly reduce the complexity of conducting business for domestic and foreign investors. He expressed gratitude for JICA’s support in implementing this initiative.
He also said that in the meeting of the BIDA Governing Board held last week under the chairmanship of the Honorable Chief Advisor, it was decided to designate BanglaBiz as a single gateway for all government services related to investment and it is expected to be gazetted soon. At the time, he said that this platform will take Bangladesh closer to global standards in digital investment services. BanglaBiz platform will continuously add new features according to a clear roadmap till 2030, which will help reduce investment costs, time and uncertainty.
The event was attended by the Honorable Chief Advisor’s Special Envoy for International Affairs, Mr. Lutfe Siddiqui. The Japanese Ambassador to Saida, Secretary of the Local Government Division, Md. Rezaul Maqsud Zahedi, and JICA’s Chief Representative, Tomohide Ichiguchi, were present as the guests of honor. Local and foreign investors were present at the event. The event was moderated by Abu Mohammad Nurul Hayat Totul, Deputy Director of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), and Tausif Ishtiaq, Managing Director and Partner of Boston Consulting Group (BCG). After the BanglaBiz 2.0 inauguration ceremony, a ‘Meet the Press’ session was held with the media personnel.
