From betel leaf and sewing threads to ships, garments, rods, cement, and real estate — every step in Bangladesh’s business and investment sector is obstructed. Entrepreneurs face not only barriers but also deliberate pullbacks that have plunged them into severe crises.
On the one hand, they are hailed as “the real heroes of the economy,” while on the other, they are vilified through lawsuits, harassment, and relentless tax raids — a grotesque display of state cruelty.
As a result of these farcical tactics, almost every sector of trade and investment is bleeding. New investment has dried up, while existing ventures are now at risk. Over the past year, instead of job creation, layoffs have become the norm — a grim reflection of an economy trapped in uncertainty.
Under this harsh economic reality, entrepreneurs are under extreme pressure. Instead of receiving incentives, they are being crushed by aggressive tax policies, insufficient access to bank loans, and import–export complications. Many business owners have even seen their personal bank accounts frozen. These actions have sparked a deep crisis of confidence, burning away the last traces of trust between the state and its entrepreneurs.
Business leaders are now asking: how much longer will this strangulation continue? With the economy slowing down, opportunities for employment creation have vanished, while layoffs have added to the growing army of the unemployed. Domestic and foreign investors are barely surviving amid the uncertainty, and the job market for young graduates lies in ruins.
It is well understood that an unelected or interim administration rarely brings political or economic stability. But Bangladesh’s case is far worse. Whatever was functioning before is now collapsing. Drought grips every sector, and nearly everything is sliding into the abyss. The question now arises: is this the natural outcome of an interim government or a reflection of its indecision and policy failures?
Neighbouring South Asian nations tell a different story. Sri Lanka, despite a devastating debt crisis, has managed to recover without unleashing repression on its entrepreneurs. No mob assaults, no mass freezing of bank accounts, no persecution of business leaders.
Nepal, too, went through prolonged political instability but did not resort to such economic suppression. Both countries strengthened their economies with the cooperation of business communities, revitalising everything from daily commodity markets to stock exchanges. Bangladesh, tragically, has taken the opposite path.
While it is normal for infrastructure projects to slow during an interim administration, this time, stagnation has turned into paralysis. Harassing entrepreneurs, mob attacks, and freezing accounts not only harm individuals but corrode the entire business climate — scaring away foreign investors and eroding the economic foundation. This damage will be difficult to repair.
Business, investment, and employment are the lifeblood of the economy and indicators of social stability. If entrepreneurs and investors do not feel secure, the economy’s pulse will falter.
For more than a year, relentless harassment, account seizures, mob interference, and restrictions on business operations have pushed the economy further towards dysfunction — almost unprecedented in South Asia’s economic history.
The most vital element of any economy is trust. When entrepreneurs feel unsafe and their capital threatened, they would rather retreat or flee than risk further loss. Yet, shutting down a business built over decades of sweat and sacrifice is not easy. Foreign investors are even more cautious, refusing to commit despite lucrative offers — a pattern we are witnessing repeatedly.
To reassure investors, transparent and business-friendly policies are urgently needed. If domestic entrepreneurs regain confidence, foreign investors will follow naturally — no emotional appeals required. Yet, dialogue between the government and the business community remains almost non-existent. Advisers and policymakers meet various groups regularly, but business representatives remain excluded from such conversations.
The government should have prioritised regular dialogue with entrepreneurs from the outset — ensuring security in industrial zones and guaranteeing the safety of invested capital, even if direct stimulus was not possible. That could have generated new waves of production, development, and employment. Bangladesh’s largest workforce — its youth — is growing restless as job opportunities vanish. Their earlier movement against the previous regime was rooted in unemployment. Each year, hundreds of thousands of graduates enter the market, but jobs remain scarce as the private sector struggles.
The blanket freezing of business accounts has had devastating consequences on trade, poverty, and employment. An economy cannot function under weak governance; nor can good economics exist without sound politics. Branding entrepreneurs as adversaries is, in essence, a self-inflicted economic wound. You can strangle a throat to make it groan, but that sound is not a song — it’s a muffled cry of national decay.
The ongoing legal harassment, intimidation, and humiliation of entrepreneurs may offer the illusion of control, but in truth, it is destroying the economy’s very core. The effects on growth, employment, and productivity will soon become painfully visible. Production, exports, and new ventures are already faltering before our eyes. Without a business-friendly climate, the investment-to-GDP ratio stagnates, growth slows, unemployment rises, and social instability deepens.
To save the economy from this cruelty, there is no alternative but to restore confidence, protect entrepreneurs, and ensure a secure environment for investment. If the government acts swiftly — through emergency initiatives or short-term reform programmes — it can still reignite production, exports, and economic dynamism. Otherwise, even a future elected government will struggle to bring Bangladesh’s economy back on track.
The author is the Deputy Head of News at Bangla Vision
