Graphic design service

Designing and selling logos, banners and packaging. Training is nearly free so competition is fierce; overseas work loses 5-8 percent to gateways and conversion, offset by a 2.5 percent cash incentive.

Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
Version 1

Starting capital: ৳25,000 – ৳1,75,000
Manpower: 1 – 5 people
First sale: 90 – 365 days
Break-even: 4 – 12 months
Kind of work: Home-based · Medium difficulty

About the business

Designing logos, banners, Facebook posts, product packaging and book covers on a computer and selling the work. Learning costs almost nothing, and that is exactly this trade's biggest problem. 10 Minute School's introductory graphic design course is free and its freelancing course is Tk 2,500. The Department of Youth Development runs a three-month freelancing course across all 64 districts entirely free, and pays the trainee Tk 200 a day for transport plus three meals. So every three months a new batch of designers enters the market nationwide, and prices get pushed down. Those who do well go after overseas clients instead of the local market. But bringing foreign money home has its own leak: gateway fees, dollar conversion and banking friction take 5 to 8 percent of earnings. Payoneer's conversion markup alone is 2.5 to 3 percent - against an interbank rate of Tk 120 the freelancer effectively gets about Tk 116.50. PayPal still cannot be used to receive money in Bangladesh. On the other side, money brought in legally earns a 2.5 percent government cash incentive, and the FY2026-27 budget exempted freelance income from both income tax and the 15 percent VAT. Work the numbers and it is clear there is no edge here beyond skill and the ability to find clients.

Unit economics

Item	Range	Evidence
Monthly working capital	৳4,000 – ৳1,10,000	Editorial estimate
Selling price	৳1,20,000 / unit	Editorial estimate
Variable cost	৳3,500 – ৳9,600 / unit	Editorial estimate
Gross margin	92% – 95%	Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue	90 – 365 days	Editorial estimate
Break-even time	4 – 12 months	Editorial estimate
Cash cycle	10 – 45 days	Editorial estimate
Waste / loss	10% – 20%	Editorial estimate
Daily capacity	0 – 0.1	Editorial estimate

What you need to start

A computer - a Core i5 13th-generation laptop runs Tk 59,900 to Tk 112,000 (StarTech, 16 September 2026). Plus reliable internet and something to ride out power cuts.Equipment
Freelancer ID card from the ICT Division, free (freelancersgov.bd). Requires at least US$50 earned in the past year, plus a marketplace profile or work order, an income screenshot, a bank statement and the national ID.Licence
Foreign exchange rules under Bangladesh Bank's FEPD circular (FEPD-1/22): no EXP form for digital service exports, no C-form up to US$20,000, and a maximum of US$10,000 per OPGSP transaction. Up to 30 percent of net earnings (50 percent for ICT/software) may be held in dollars in an ERQ account.Licence
Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
Running design software plus basic design sense. Cost: free primer at 10 Minute School, Tk 2,500 for its freelancing course; Creative IT Institute Tk 15,000 online and Tk 30,000 in person (mastery course Tk 30,000/Tk 60,000); the Department of Youth Development's three-month course is free.Skill
A Payoneer or approved OPGSP account, a bank account, and where possible an ERQ account at an AD branch. PayPal cannot be used to receive money in Bangladesh.Supplier
A table at home is enough. A separate office only becomes necessary once you hire and build a team.Workspace

How the work is done

1Pick a training route. 10 Minute School's primer is free and its freelancing course is Tk 2,500; Creative IT Institute charges Tk 15,000 online and Tk 30,000 in person.
2Try for the Department of Youth Development's free three-month course - it runs in all 64 districts and pays Tk 200 a day for transport plus three meals. Requires HSC and age 18-35.
3Get the computer. A Core i5 13th-generation laptop starts at Tk 59,900 at StarTech. Design work needs both RAM and screen.
4Build a portfolio. Clients look at work, not certificates. Do two or three jobs for local shops cheaply just to have samples.
5Price-check both the local and overseas markets and write down what each pays per hour of your time. That one calculation decides which market you belong in.
6Open a Fiverr or Upwork profile and a Payoneer account alongside it - PayPal cannot receive money in Bangladesh.
7Ask your bank up to what dollar amount it will credit remittance without a C-form, and whether it can open an ERQ account. Many district-town branches cannot.
8Keep the invoice, work order and the bank's PRC or Form-C for every job - above Tk 500,000 these are needed to claim the cash incentive.
9Take the ICT Division's free freelancer ID card, which needs at least US$50 earned in the past year. It makes proving income at the bank easier.
10Do not leave earnings abroad. Bangladesh Bank has stated plainly that holding export income outside an approved account, including in crypto, breaches the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 and is a punishable offence.

Seasons

JanNormal
FebNormal
MarNormal
AprNormal
MayNormal
JunNormal
JulNormal
AugNormal
SepNormal
OctNormal
NovNormal
DecNormal

HighNormalLow

Where it works well

Strong fitChattogram · Port-driven trade and exporters keep packaging and label design work coming.
Strong fitDhaka · Advertising agencies, presses, packaging plants and brand offices - the largest local market for this work is here.
PossibleBogura · A northern trading centre where small factories and shops need packaging and banners.
PossibleCumilla · Highway trade and the EPZ generate local work.
PossibleGazipur · A dense cluster of garment factories, with label, tag and catalogue work available.
PossibleKhulna · A divisional city with local business and press work, though limited in volume.
PossibleMymensingh · A large university-driven youth population - plenty of people learning the skill, fewer clients than that.
PossibleNarayanganj · Many garment and trading firms, and Dhaka work is easy to reach.
PossibleRajshahi · Skilled people come out of the university and living costs are low, which makes surviving on overseas work easier.
PossibleSylhet · Many expatriate-owned restaurants and shops, where rates tend to be better.

Risks and cautions

HighDemand: New designers arrive without pause and prices fall with them. The Department of Youth Development runs a free three-month freelancing course in all 64 districts, paying trainees Tk 200 a day plus three meals; 10 Minute School's primer is free. When the cost of entry is near zero, the price of entry-level work never recovers - ten people are already underbidding for the same logo.
HighDependency: The income arrives through foreign platforms and foreign gateways, over neither of which you have any control. PayPal still cannot receive money in Bangladesh. If a marketplace account is closed or a gateway changes policy, the income can go to zero in a day, with no local office to complain to.
MediumWorking capital: Between 5 and 8 percent of earnings disappears into gateway fees, dollar conversion and banking friction - Tk 6,000 to Tk 9,600 on a thousand-dollar job. The government's 2.5 percent cash incentive returns part of it, not all. This cut has to be priced in from the start, or the money that lands will be less than the money that was quoted.
MediumCompliance: Bangladesh Bank has stated plainly that holding earnings abroad - in another bank account, in assets, or in cryptocurrency - outside an approved account directly breaches the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 and is punishable. At the same time rule and practice diverge: the circular waives the C-form up to US$20,000, yet many banks demand one at US$500-1,000, and district-town branches often cannot open an ERQ account at all.
MediumLate payment: Collecting from local clients after the files have been handed over is an old problem in this trade. Once the file leaves your hand, your bargaining power leaves with it. Starting without an advance puts the whole of that risk on you.

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