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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.

131 businesses

Home & local services

Shoe repair

Stitching, soling and polishing shoes. A polish is Tk 30 in Sylhet with Tk 400-500 on an average day; one launch-based repairer takes Tk 700 some days and under Tk 200 on others.

Capital
৳2k – ৳30k
People
1 – 2
First income
1 – 7 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
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
Retail & wholesale

Children's clothing shop

Retailing clothes for children aged 0-12. Panjabi sets Tk 260-985, frocks Tk 150-650. Children outgrow clothes, so stock turns over far faster than in an adult boutique.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳7 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
20 – 45 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
Light manufacturing & workshop

Hosiery unit: socks and vests

A factory making vests, socks and sweaters from jhut cloth. Pabna has about a thousand units making 180-200 million pieces a year, but with the land route to India closed 65 percent of the workers are idle.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳25 lakh
People
5 – 100
First income
30 – 90 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Ghee and butter making

Separating milk into butter and ghee, with chhana or yogurt from the skim. One maund (40 kg) of milk gives 1.25 kg of ghee; cost about Tk 2,900 against Tk 3,040-3,260 of sales - a 5 to 11 percent margin.

Capital
৳60k – ৳4 lakh
People
2 – 6
First income
15 – 60 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
Light manufacturing & workshop

Carton and box making

A unit making corrugated cartons and boxes. Small parcel cartons retail at Tk 24-40 each, and the 350,000-400,000 parcels moving daily are the biggest market.

Capital
৳3 lakh – ৳30 lakh
People
4 – 30
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
Agriculture & farming

Biofloc fish farming

Dense fish farming in tanks. High output from a small space is possible, but in Thakurgaon one farmer put in Tk 4 lakh and sold only Tk 60,000 of fish.

Capital
৳3 lakh – ৳4 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
150 – 180 days
Practitioner verified
Light manufacturing & workshop

Rubber and plastic sandal making

Melting old shoes and waste plastic into cheap sandals. Bangladesh has 300-400 such factories making over a crore pairs a year, and they retail at Tk 100-500 a pair.

Capital
৳2.5 lakh – ৳25 lakh
People
3 – 25
First income
60 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Tea packaging and branding

Buying loose tea at auction, blending and packing it under your own brand. The 2026-27 Chattogram auction averages Tk 280.88 a kg while packet tea sells at Tk 428-650.

Capital
৳5 lakh – ৳50 lakh
People
2 – 15
First income
45 – 100 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Sand filling and earthwork

Contracting land filling, pond filling and earth cutting. Fill sand is Tk 8-12 a cubic foot in Dhaka, and lifting soil without permission means a fine up to Tk 10,00,000 and the excavator confiscated.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
3 – 20
First income
30 – 365 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
Food processing

Ice cream and popsicle making

Making ice cream, kulfi and popsicles from milk, milk powder and sugar. BSTI certification is compulsory, and one break in the minus-20-degree cold chain ruins the stock.

Capital
৳2.5 lakh – ৳30 lakh
People
2 – 12
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
Retail & wholesale

Tyre and battery shop

Selling and fitting tyres and batteries for cars and motorcycles. Car tyres Tk 11,000-29,000, bike tyres Tk 1,750-15,650, bike batteries Tk 1,050-1,950.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
20 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Tiles and marble fitting

Laying tiles and marble on floors, walls and bathrooms. Tiles run Tk 55-170 a piece and the statutory minimum for a tile man is Tk 1,105 a day in town, the highest on any site.

Capital
৳30k – ৳2.5 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Shoe and bag shop

Retailing shoes, sandals, school bags and belts. School shoes Tk 559-1,999 and school bags Tk 279-996; unsold odd sizes are the biggest loss in this trade.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳9 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
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
Home & local services

Motorcycle servicing

Servicing motorcycles and selling parts. Bangladesh has 4,980,747 registered motorcycles, and 86 percent of all 2025 vehicle registrations were motorcycles.

Capital
৳50k – ৳5 lakh
People
1 – 5
First income
10 – 45 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
Home & local services

IPS and battery sales and servicing

A shop that installs IPS units and replaces batteries. The machine sells once, the battery every 18-30 months - and the battery is most of the price of the set.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳6 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate