The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has launched a new tool – the Municipal Competitiveness Index (MCI) 2024 – for assessing local investment opportunities.
BIDA, in association with Swisscontact’s PRABRIDDHI project, unveiled the MCI through a workshop, styled “The Role of the Municipal Competitiveness Index (MCI) in Strengthening the Investment Climate,” at the BIDA Multipurpose Hall in Dhaka yesterday.
The event brought together senior policymakers, development partners, and private sector representatives to discuss how data-driven insights from the index could drive reforms at the subnational level.
The MCI, developed under the Bangladesh Investment Climate Improvement (BICI) programme and implemented by Policy Exchange Bangladesh, evaluates the investment readiness of seven pilot municipalities.
It highlights local-level barriers to investment while proposing strategic reform pathways to unlock economic potential outside the traditional investment hubs.
Jointly funded by the governments of Bangladesh and Switzerland, PRABRIDDHI is a Local Economic Development (LED) initiative implemented by the Local Government Division and Swisscontact.
BIDA Chairman Chowdhury Ashiq Mahmud Bin Harun, who attended the event as chief guest, described the initiative as “timely and transformative.”
He emphasised the need to decentralize investment facilitation from Dhaka and promote municipalities as viable destinations for both domestic and foreign investment.
“If we can strengthen local capacities and improve inter-agency coordination at the grassroots level, these areas will become significantly more attractive to investors,” he said, adding that BIDA remains committed to supporting efforts that address regional institutional bottlenecks.
Shah Mohammad Mahboob, an executive member (additional secretary) of BIDA, stressed the need to embed the MCI in BIDA’s long-term reform agenda.
“Institutionalising such a tool can offer sustained insights into municipal-level challenges, guiding evidence-based policy and reform,” he said.
Presenting the MCI’s findings, M Masrur Reaz, chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, noted that past assessments—like the World Bank’s Doing Business report—focused only on Dhaka and Chattogram.
“The MCI now gives us a much-needed, data-driven view of the investment environment at the municipal level,” he said.
BIDA Director General Jibon Krishna Saha Roy shared that the agency had earlier piloted reforms at the divisional level, but engagement at the local level was made possible through support from Swisscontact and the Local Government Division.
“This experience underscored the urgent need to strengthen the institutional capacity of local governments,” he added.
The session, moderated by BIDA Deputy Director Abu Mohammad Nurul Hayat Totul, featured panel discussions on key reform priorities such as business entry, infrastructure, taxation, dispute resolution, and access to finance.