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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.

111 businesses

Agriculture & farming

Crab farming and fattening

Fattening mud crab in brackish-water pens or boxes and selling on to a depot and an exporter. Bangladesh shipped Tk 867.88 crore of crab in FY2024-25, almost all of it to China, and when China shuts the door a Tk 2,000 kg crab falls to Tk 300.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳20 lakh
People
2 – 15
First income
20 – 35 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Fast food and burger shop

A small shop selling burgers, sandwiches, rolls and fries. Lower capital than a restaurant, but exactly the same licence stack - trade, food safety, fire, environment and VAT.

Capital
৳2.5 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Wholesale medicine business

Wholesaling medicines to pharmacies. DGDA licenses it separately - Tk 10,000 new, Tk 5,000 renewal, valid two years - but no pharmacist is required.

Capital
৳5 lakh – ৳50 lakh
People
2 – 10
First income
42 – 120 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Watch and clock repair

Repairing wristwatches and wall clocks. The national watch market is over Tk 300 crore, but Patuatuli sells watches from Tk 30, so cheap watches are never repaired.

Capital
৳5k – ৳1.5 lakh
People
1 – 2
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Mosquito coil manufacturing

A unit pressing mosquito coils from sawdust and insecticide. BSTI certification is compulsory and the Department of Environment will not clear a site in a residential area.

Capital
৳4 lakh – ৳40 lakh
People
5 – 40
First income
90 – 270 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Fishing gear shop

Selling hooks, rods, reels, nets and fish medicine. Rods Tk 455-1,552, reels Tk 641-6,705. Current jal and China duari nets are illegal - stocking them means seizure and a mobile court.

Capital
৳1.2 lakh – ৳6 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
20 – 50 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Biriyani shop

Selling kacchi, tehari and morog polao by the plate. Almost the entire cost is meat - the raw material in one pot of shahi mutton kacchi is Tk 13,265-15,054.

Capital
৳3 lakh – ৳25 lakh
People
3 – 15
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Sports goods shop

Retailing bats, balls, jerseys and rackets. Children's bats Tk 109-511, English willow Tk 2,250-3,190, footballs Tk 484-1,200. Demand follows schools, clubs and the tournament season.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳9 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
25 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Security guard service

Supplying guards on contract. The service charge is Tk 9,000-10,000 per guard while wages are Tk 8,000-15,000 - that gap is the whole business.

Capital
৳5 lakh – ৳30 lakh
People
10 – 200
First income
60 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Pottery and terracotta

Making clay pots, planters and terracotta showpieces. Bijoypur's work is exported, but with no gas the kilns run on firewood and part of the output is spoiled.

Capital
৳40k – ৳4 lakh
People
2 – 12
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Agriculture & farming

Mussel and pearl culture

Seeding pond mussels to grow pearls in seven to eleven months. Grade A pearls sell wholesale at Tk 500-600, but there is no regular buyer - and that is the main risk.

Capital
৳30k – ৳1.5 lakh
People
1 – 6
First income
210 – 330 days
Practitioner verified
Home & local services

Mehedi and bridal service

Henna design and bridal styling for weddings, gaye holud and Eid. In Dhaka festival mehendi is Tk 1,225-1,625 and bridal Tk 3,900-5,525 per person.

Capital
৳3k – ৳50k
People
1 – 4
First income
1 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Key and lock service

Cutting keys, mending locks and opening jammed doors. A key is Tk 25-200 and a house call Tk 250-500; a good day brings a thousand, a bad day nothing.

Capital
৳3k – ৳40k
People
1 – 2
First income
1 – 7 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Driving school

A motor driving training institute. A BRTA licence is compulsory, registration costs Tk 15,000, and only 152 schools are registered in the whole country.

Capital
৳4 lakh – ৳20 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
45 – 120 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Cake and pastry shop

Baking cakes, pastries and cupcakes for the counter and to order. The display case carries the spoilage risk; the decorated order cakes carry the margin.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
2 – 10
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Jar water and drinking water plant

Treating water and selling it in jars and bottles. BSTI certification is compulsory, and most of the margin sits with the retailer and distributor rather than the plant.

Capital
৳8 lakh – ৳50 lakh
People
3 – 15
First income
45 – 100 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Cement post and pillar casting

Casting concrete posts and pillars in moulds. It shares a mixer with concrete block making, and the rising price of rod and cement is the main risk.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳9 lakh
People
2 – 10
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Agriculture & farming

Watermelon farming

A three-month coastal crop. Tk 30,000-35,000 a bigha to grow, Tk 80,000 to a lakh a bigha in a good year, and a selling window only about two weeks wide.

Capital
৳35k – ৳3.5 lakh
People
2 – 10
First income
90 – 120 days
Practitioner verified
Light manufacturing & workshop

Household plastic goods moulding

Moulding buckets, mugs and chairs from melted plastic. The market is worth about Tk 50,000 crore, but RFL's own store sells a 30-litre bucket at Tk 193, which virgin resin cannot match.

Capital
৳6 lakh – ৳50 lakh
People
4 – 30
First income
90 – 240 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Masonry and building contracting

Contracting the labour of brickwork, casting and finishing. Dhaka construction runs Tk 1,800-3,000 per square foot of plinth area, and the statutory minimum for a mason is Tk 940 a day in town.

Capital
৳50k – ৳5 lakh
People
3 – 25
First income
15 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Gold and jewellery shop

Buying and selling gold and silver at the BAJUS-fixed rate. 22-carat was Tk 19,970 a gram; the shop earns from a 6 percent making charge and a 15-17 percent weight deduction on old gold.

Capital
৳50 lakh – ৳2.5 crore
People
2 – 6
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Dry fruit and nut packaging

Buying nuts and dates by the sack and selling them in small branded packets. Wholesale almonds run Tk 1,150 and cashews Tk 1,600 a kg against Tk 1,200-2,600 in packets. No BSTI CM licence, but a packaging registration certificate is required.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳10 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
20 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Home and office cleaning service

Deep-cleaning flats and offices. In Dhaka a bathroom is Tk 1,225-2,250, a full home Tk 5,100-9,200 and floors Tk 3.5-10 per square foot.

Capital
৳30k – ৳3 lakh
People
2 – 10
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

Car wash and servicing

Washing, interior cleaning and polishing cars. Online platform rates in Dhaka run Tk 1,790-5,700 per car, and a pressure washer starts at Tk 7,250.

Capital
৳60k – ৳6 lakh
People
2 – 6
First income
15 – 60 days
Editorial estimate