Filter by capital, district and kind of work. Every number uses the same units, so you can compare businesses side by side.
43 businesses
Light manufacturing & workshopDrying water hyacinth and weaving it into trays, baskets and doormats. In Jhenaidah 800 women do this at home at Tk 20 a piece, 12-15 pieces a day, about Tk 3,000 a month, and the goods go to 82 countries.
Light manufacturing & workshopProject work designing and building out flats, offices and shops. Materials are bought up front while payment comes in stages, so unpaid balances are the main risk.
Light manufacturing & workshopTurning a manuscript into a printed book and getting it to market. White writing paper is Tk 34-40 per dista, and keeping a press requires a declaration before the District Magistrate.
Light manufacturing & workshopSmall-workshop candle and soap making on low capital. Soap is on BSTI's mandatory certification list and cannot be sold without a CM licence; candles are not on the list.
Light manufacturing & workshopWeaving bed sheets and home textiles on power looms for the wholesale haats. One loom makes 8-15 pieces a day, and a plain double bed sheet set retails at Tk 389-489.
Light manufacturing & workshopTrousers stitch for Tk 600: Tk 220 to the karigor, Tk 90 other costs, Tk 290 to the shop. One karigor does five trousers or ten shirts a day. The real money is sub-contract work, and its rules just tightened.
Light manufacturing & workshopBuying, sorting and reselling discarded plastic. The margin is Tk 2-20 a kg, and Dhaka scrap shops pay about Tk 22 a kg at the door.
Light manufacturing & workshopMaking 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.
Light manufacturing & workshopA 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.
Light manufacturing & workshopHand-woven sarees on a wooden loom. Sarees sell from Tk 1,500 to Tk 300,000 while a weaver earns about Tk 4,590 a month, because the margin stays with the mahajan.
Light manufacturing & workshopBuying waste paper, folding bags by hand and supplying shops. Khaki bags sell at Tk 135-140 a kg and white at Tk 80; 60 kg of paper costs Tk 7,500 and yields 70 kg of bags for Tk 2,300 profit.
Light manufacturing & workshopA 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.
Light manufacturing & workshopMaking 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.
Light manufacturing & workshopCutting, folding and binding paper into exercise books. A 300-page khata sells online at Tk 169 and a 120-page one at Tk 75, while a packet of paper costs Tk 100-150 more than a year ago.
Light manufacturing & workshopPrinting designs on cloth. Low capital, but every design and every colour needs its own screen, so the per-piece cost climbs steeply as the order gets smaller.
Light manufacturing & workshopBuilding 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.
Light manufacturing & workshopCutting and welding mild steel into grills, railings, steel doors and gates. Plain MS grill is about Tk 160-220 per square foot, while MS rod has risen 10-17 percent in a year.
Light manufacturing & workshopCutting and fitting aluminium profile and glass into doors, windows and partitions. Ordinary work is about Tk 470-750 per square foot, and a wrong measurement cannot be returned.
Light manufacturing & workshopBuy jute fabric and stitch shopping and gift bags. Corporate orders bring the bigger money.
