Message

The Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) is a flagship project of the Ministry of Commerce financed by the World Bank Group.

The objective of the EC4J Project is to contribute to economic diversification of Bangladesh by improving competitiveness and increasing investment in high potential sectors with a consequential positive impact on trade, export, and employment through different interventions in targeted sectors such as Leather & Leather Goods, Footwear (leather & non-leather), Plastics and Light Engineering (Electronics, Electrical Goods, Bicycle, Automobile, Accumulators, Battery, etc.).

These sectors are selected based on the priority of Government of Bangladesh, particularly its Export Policy as well as the priorities highlighted in the Five Year Plan. Improving the competitiveness of these established, less dominant but promising sectors is likely to be the main source of economic diversification; hence require favorable business environment and institutional support for improving competitiveness in order to have better access to international markets and sustain the growth.

The EC4J Project has carefully designed and implemented a number of interventions to improve productivity, efficiency and compliance in the areas of Environmental, Social and Quality (ESQ) standards of the targeted sectors by creating awareness at sector level, providing matching grants under Export Readiness Fund (ERF) program focusing on SMEs factories.

As a part of these initiatives, EC4J project is executing a MEET BANGLADESH campaign to harness market opportunities utilizing state-of-the-art marketing and communication tools and mediums coupled with adequate market intelligence.

It is expected that, these interventions will help branding Bangladesh as compliant and competitive sourcing destination thereby attract private investment, promote trade and stimulate export growth.

Long live Bangladesh. Joy Bangla.