BIDA rolls out initiative to draw a stream of investments

As a unique move, the country's apex investment promotion agency Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) recently introduced a dedicated team of relationship managers comprising private sector professionals to facilitate an investor's journey from seeking information to establishing an industry.

The Investor Relationship Management (IRM) team under a public-private exchange programme, which is the first of its kind in Bangladesh's government agencies, started working on August 3 as a single point of contact to guide potential and existing investors at home and abroad.

The initiative largely aims at drawing a stream of investments in the country, for which the IRM officials would continue to provide support and follow-up in a more structured way, unlike before, BIDA's Head of Business Development Nahian Rahman Rochi told The Financial Express during an exclusive interview recently.

"We expect to have a very solid pipeline of investors after six months as we continue to engage different potential investors across sectors and countries," said Mr Rochi.

"The biggest objective of the programme is to support the incoming investors by handholding them throughout the investment journey and navigating through complex challenges," said Mr Rochi, who has brought a global perspective from his work experiences gathered in major Asian markets, including Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.

During the interview that took place at the BIDA headquarters in the capital's Agargaon area on Sunday, Mr Rochi was accompanied by the IRM team comprising four bankers - Senior Business Development Manager (Coverage) Imran Hossain, Senior Relationship Manager Fatema Tuj Zohora, Business Development Manager Nafisa Zaman, and Relationship Manager Associate Johary Bin Akhter.

They are bankers by profession, representing four private commercial banks' relationship management teams with varied years of experience.

The programme is being implemented as a pilot project for a period of six months.

The four bankers would return to their respective workplaces when their tenures at BIDA end in six months. If their tenures are extended, they will continue there.

"Public-private exchange programmes are common in countries like the UK and Singapore. The idea is simple - bring private sector talents into the public sector on a temporary basis to foster cross-sector learning, exchange diverse approaches, and collaborate on innovative, solution-oriented strategies," said Mr Rochi, who also came from the private sector and took the helm of BIDA's business development wing in December last year.

This programme benefits both sides - the public sector gains fresh perspectives, while private sector professionals return with a deeper understanding of government systems, expanded networks, and real-world experience that enhances their impact back in their own organisations, he said.

The programme's design is very unique as such a programme was neither adopted by BIDA nor any other government offices earlier, he said, adding that it was totally different from hiring a single consultant in public offices.

"On one hand, there are many professionals with different skills and thoughts who intend to contribute to the government endeavours in a structured way. On the other hand, government offices also lack an adequate number of professionals against the workload and the country's needs," he said, adding that the IRM is such an initiative to make an exemplary platform.

The programme is designed as an exchange model and will help both the public and private sectors as the participants would get an opportunity to gather hands-on experience, he said.

Private sector professionals will join the IRM team on deputation and return to their respective offices after their tenures end and they learn and contribute, he said.

Explaining the background of the programme, the BIDA official said the initiative began in November last year to recruit private sector professionals, complying with the existing rules and regulations.

"We had to review the different clauses of public procurement rules (PPR) and hold consultation meetings with private sector representatives to address the legal challenges before shaping the programme," he said, adding that the professionals' parent organisations also had to cooperate

with the process.

"Our hope is that since the first attempt is always the hardest, this blueprint of the BIDA IRM team can now serve as a case study. If any other government agency takes it forward, the process should be much faster."

Giving an example of such a public-private exchange programme of the UK, Mr Rochi said both ways of exchange can happen, but they are now more focused on drawing professionals from private to public as the demand on the government side is stronger.

Sharing her experience of working with a government agency, Fatema Tuj Zohora said it has been an unparalleled opportunity to contribute to the country's economy as well as gather experience in new dimensions.

"We have been involved in the meetings as well as client engagement activities since the first day of joining," said Ms Zohora, who came from Mutual Trust Bank with banking experiences of nearly 13 years.

Highlighting the team's role, she said making investment - from proposal to implementation through different stages of negotiations and getting go-ahead signals from the agencies concerned - is a long journey.

"An investment does not happen overnight, while bottlenecks in the investment climate cannot be removed within a short period of time," she said.

"We are giving investors a clear-cut, transparent message like how much electricity they can get in an area for their industry so that they can prepare a pragmatic plan," she said, adding that this is very vital for boosting investors' confidence.

With a total banking career of 13 years, Mr Imran Hossain served Eastern Bank Limited as the vice president and senior relationship manager.

He said a number of investors have already contacted them after learning about the newly-launched IRM team through social media posts shared by BIDA officials.

Both foreign and local investors have approached the team to know how they can benefit from it, he said.

"Interestingly, I received a late-night phone call from a Bangladeshi migrant in the US, who wanted to know how he can register a company from abroad. Then I shared the details of the virtual one-stop service (OSS) launched by BIDA," said Mr Hossain.

He further said that as the members of the first cohort, they are also working on shaping the IRM team, in addition to supporting the investors, and would also look after the local and existing businesses based on sectors and help them navigate through the challenges and new opportunities.

"Being a member of the first-of-its-kind exchange programme, we are also working on outlining how this model could be capitalised by the people joining the team later," he said.

Ms Nafisa Zaman, who joined the BIDA team from City Bank, said she believed the initiative was highly commendable and they would be working closely with other government agencies to solve key investor problems to enhance the investment climate.

"We have been on the frontline in customer dealings in our parent organisations. So this is going to be an opportunity to play an expert's role in a new dimension," she said.

She also said if any initiative is process-oriented rather than people-oriented, it would always remain effective.

"The desired results may not come immediately, but when the next cohort arrives in six months or later, they can carry it forward.

"Our intention is to set a good example by establishing strong processes so that future teams achieve results more quickly," she added.

Before joining BIDA, Johary Bin Akhter was serving Bengal Commercial Bank as an assistant vice president.

Sharing his thoughts on the new role, he said a person recently approached the team after learning about them through a social media post.

"I think it is a relief for the team and investors since they know where to start their journey," he said.

Being a service organisation, the BIDA IRM team is proactively guiding investors, he said.

"For example, an investor has successfully launched a project in one sector, and we can advise him to invest in another considering the country's potential, needs, and return on investment probability," he also said.

Johary said the team is initially focusing on several sectors, such as semiconductor, IT, health, and textile.

"We are now exploring ways to approach the companies through embassies, portraying the possibilities here in Bangladesh," he said, adding that such marketing policies are effectively being used by countries like China and Taiwan.

In January this year, BIDA launched Bangladesh's FDI Heatmap, a data-driven framework to attract more investment.

Focusing on 19 high-potential sectors, the heatmap provides a strategic blueprint for all future strategies and promotion.

Mr Rochi said the team is currently focusing on several sectors, including semiconductor, information technology (IT), pharmaceuticals, textile, renewable energy, and electronics.

Responding to a query on the lack of coordination among government agencies and the tendency of some of them not to cooperate with investors, he said establishing coordination is a challenge not only for Bangladesh but also many developed countries.

"Under the supervision of Mr Lutfey Siddiqi, chief adviser's special envoy, we hold a monthly coordination meeting between investment promotion agencies and the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

"Besides, we hold a bi-monthly coordination meeting with the Bangladesh bank. Representatives from all ministries attend the meetings, and if any investor faces a problem, we discuss it," he added.

BIDA's website has also been improved to make it more investor-centric so that an investor can reach out directly by making an appointment with specific queries.

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