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All businesses

Filter by capital, district and kind of work. Every number uses the same units, so you can compare businesses side by side.

92 businesses

Retail & wholesale

Seed, fertiliser and feed dealership

A farm input shop selling seed, fertiliser, pesticide and feed. The fertiliser margin is fixed by government at Tk 2 a kg today, rising to Tk 3 from 1 July 2027.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳25 lakh
People
1 – 5
First income
30 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Jute handicraft

Making bags, pots and showpieces from jute. Tk 2,000 of scissors and rope starts it by hand, but an export order needs a workshop, and ten machines cost about Tk 500,000.

Capital
৳2k – ৳10 lakh
People
1 – 40
First income
7 – 120 days
Practitioner verified
Light manufacturing & workshop

Ice factory

A plant making ice for fish preservation. A can sells for Tk 120-300, but a 125 kg can needs eight straight hours of power, which makes load-shedding the whole risk.

Capital
৳15 lakh – ৳1 crore
People
5 – 25
First income
90 – 240 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Small shoe making unit

A small unit making sandals and shoes for wholesalers. Sandals sell at Tk 250-700 and leather shoes at Tk 1,200. Bhairab alone has 3,500-5,000 units employing about 25,000 people.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳10 lakh
People
4 – 20
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Fruit juice and drinks

Making and bottling fruit juice and fruit drinks. A litre retails at Tk 80-90. Selling without a BSTI CM licence draws fines - recently Tk 30,000 to Tk 1,00,000.

Capital
৳5 lakh – ৳30 lakh
People
4 – 20
First income
90 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Frozen paratha and samosa

Making raw paratha, samosa and singara, freezing them and selling them in packs. Retail is Tk 12.5-19 a paratha and Tk 8.6-9.4 a mini samosa. The cold chain from factory to shop is the real condition of the business.

Capital
৳3 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
3 – 15
First income
45 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Concrete block making

Making and selling cement-sand-chip blocks. A hollow block sells for Tk 32-50 and replaces five bricks. The deadline for 100 percent block use in government work expired in June 2025 and was missed.

Capital
৳12 lakh – ৳45 lakh
People
3 – 12
First income
30 – 90 days
Market quote
Agriculture & farming

Fish nursery and fry

Nursing hatchery spawn into fingerlings and selling them to fish farmers. On a government farm's 2026 targets, spawn runs about Tk 1,900 a kg and fingerlings about Tk 250 a kg.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳22 lakh
People
2 – 12
First income
60 – 365 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Wooden furniture workshop

Building beds, wardrobes and tables to order. An MDF bed starts near Tk 12,000 and a solid teak king bed runs to Tk 1,80,000 - but the timber is paid for first and the money comes after delivery.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳12 lakh
People
2 – 10
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Rice mill

Buying paddy, parboiling and hulling it, and selling the rice. 24,000 kg of paddy gives 15,000 kg of rice, and the husk, bran and broken grain return another Tk 6.45 on every kilo sold.

Capital
৳5 lakh – ৳50 lakh
People
4 – 20
First income
30 – 120 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Rice wholesale trading

Buying rice by the sack at the mokam and selling it to retail shops. Dhaka wholesale coarse rice is Tk 43-45 against Tk 50-55 retail, but the wholesaler keeps only 50 paisa to one taka a kilo.

Capital
৳2.5 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Fish wholesale arot

Auctioning farmers' fish on commission. The rate is about 3 per cent, and holding suppliers means giving interest-free advances - the money is in volume, not margin.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
3 – 12
First income
15 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Residential hotel

Renting rooms by the night. A one-star hotel pays Tk 42,000 in registration and licence fees before opening and must have at least 10 rooms; government motel room rates run Tk 900-4,500.

Capital
৳15 lakh – ৳80 lakh
People
3 – 20
First income
90 – 365 days
Editorial estimate
Digital & B2B services

Travel agency

Tickets, visas and hajj-umrah packages. Ministry registration costs Tk 62,500, renewal Tk 25,000 every three years, and the 2026 ordinance requires a Tk 10 lakh bank guarantee.

Capital
৳12 lakh – ৳25 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
45 – 120 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Cosmetics shop

A retail shop for creams, shampoo, face wash and make-up. At least 18 cosmetic categories are on BSTI's mandatory list, and uncertified or undocumented imported stock is the shopkeeper's liability.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
1 – 5
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Daycare centre

A centre caring for working parents' children through the day. Registration is compulsory under the 2021 Act: running one without it risks two years in jail or a Tk 5-10 lakh fine.

Capital
৳3 lakh – ৳12 lakh
People
3 – 12
First income
30 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Car rental service

Renting out cars by the day or on monthly contract. In Dhaka a sedan is Tk 4,000 a day for 10 hours and 100 km and a Hiace Tk 5,500, but that is not profit once driver pay and depreciation are counted.

Capital
৳6 lakh – ৳35 lakh
People
1 – 5
First income
15 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Banana ripening chamber

Buying green bananas, ripening them in a controlled chamber and selling them on. Section 23 of the Food Safety Act names calcium carbide as prohibited and the offence is non-bailable; ethylene and ethephon are permitted within prescribed limits.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳20 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Agriculture & farming

Farm machinery rental

Buying a harvester or reaper and hiring it out to farmers. In May 2026 the fixed rate in Katiadi was Tk 2,500 a bigha; a machine costs Tk 30-40 lakh and the subsidy has been suspended since June 2024.

Capital
৳30 lakh – ৳40 lakh
People
2 – 6
First income
15 – 180 days
Market quote
Agriculture & farming

Layer poultry farm for eggs

Feed alone is Tk 7.90-9.30 per egg and full production cost Tk 8.50-10. Through mid-2026 farmers were getting Tk 6-6.80, a loss on every egg.

Capital
৳3 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
126 – 140 days
Editorial estimate