Bangladesh continues to rely overwhelmingly on bank financing, while equity financing remains largely untapped. According to a World Bank survey, only 0.5% of Bangladeshi businesses consider equity as a funding option, compared to 6.9% in India.

A roundtable titled “Strengthening Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health in Southern Bangladesh” was held on October 30, 2025, at The Daily Star Centre, Dhaka.

Bangladesh is entering a defining decade that will determine whether its vast youth population becomes the engine of sustainable growth or a missed opportunity.

The Asia-Pacific region has experienced significant shifts in trade, investment, and economic growth. Starting with gradual trade liberalisation, followed by regional integration initiatives and structural reforms, progress in many parts of this region is quite evident.

A roundtable titled “Advancing Gender-Responsive Climate Action: Road to COP30” was held on September 1, 2025, at The Daily Star Centre, Dhaka. Jointly organised under the EmPower Project—led by UN Women and UNEP with support from the Governments of Sweden and New Zealand—and hosted by The Daily Star, the dialogue brought together government officials, development partners, civil society, and academics.

At Badabon Sangho, as a women-led and women’s rights organisation, we have been working with fisherfolk communities with a strong focus on advancing the rights of women in fisheries.

Say speakers at Star roundtable

Business leaders have continued to push the government to seek a deferral of Bangladesh’s graduation to a developing nation by five to six years, warning that a premature transition would cripple industries, erode export competitiveness, and trigger massive job losses.

Leading entrepreneurs yesterday urged the government to create an environment more conducive to doing business as Bangladesh prepares to graduate from the UN’s least developed country (LDC) category next year.

Calling the sharp rise in child sexual abuse across Bangladesh a “national crisis”, rights groups have urged the government to take urgent and coordinated action.

Tangles in government services remain a major challenge for turning ideas into reality and becoming successful entrepreneurs, said young innovators at a roundtable yesterday.

Bangladesh has strong potential in agro-processing, which is emerging as a key driver of value beyond traditional farming. Global demand for safe, high-quality processed food is growing fast, and Bangladesh already exports over $1.2 billion annually in this sector.

Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and Landesa, along with The Daily Star, organised a roundtable discussion titled “NDC Implementation Challenges: Accelerating Mitigation  & Adaptation through Sustainable Land Management”, at the newspaper’s office in Dhaka on July 21, 2025. Below is a summary of the discussion.

Statistics reveal that agriculture’s contribution to the nation’s GDP is steadily declining. A distressing trend emerged this year: between January and April, 12 farmers took their own lives.

The dialogue “Transforming Policy into Law: Domestic Workers’ Rights and Implementation Barriers” was held on July 16, 2025, under the EWCSA project, jointly organised by Shobujer Ovijan Foundation, Oxfam in Bangladesh, The Daily Star, and co- funded by The European Union. Here is a summary of the discussion.

We urgently need greater awareness around disability issues, especially as climate change and man-made disasters increase.

UNICEF and WaterAid, in collaboration with The Daily Star, organised a roundtable on 27 May 2025 titled ‘Building Climate-Resilient and Inclusive WASH Infrastructure: Creating Period-Friendly Schools, Health Care Facilities and Workplaces.

Despite frequent discussions on climate change and development, we often overlook a pressing issue in Bangladesh and similar countries:

The Daily Star organised a roundtable titled “Budget 2025-26: Time to Make Public Procurement Work for Bangladeshi Manufacturers” on May 18, 2025. Here is a summary of the discussion.

UNICEF, supported by the European Union and in partnership with The Daily Star, organized a roundtable on May 13, 2025, titled “A New Bangladesh for Children: A Stronger Social Budget to Bring Childhood Back on Track.” The following is a summary of the discussion.