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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

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
Home & local services

Laundry and dry cleaning

A shop that washes, dries and irons clothes. In a mofussil town it is Tk 10 a garment and Tk 1,000 on a hundred-garment day, but load-shedding drops that to Tk 300-400.

Capital
৳25k – ৳2.5 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Notebook making

Cutting, 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.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳7 lakh
People
3 – 15
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Event catering

Cooking and serving for three to five hundred guests at events. The booking advance comes first, but catering services carry 15 percent VAT, not the restaurant's 5 percent.

Capital
৳1.5 lakh – ৳8 lakh
People
5 – 25
First income
14 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Pickle (achar) making

Making mango, olive and garlic pickle for jars. Branded pickle retails at Tk 375-525 a kilo, and selling packaged food means a Tk 1,000 food safety registration even from a home kitchen.

Capital
৳20k – ৳90k
People
1 – 4
First income
14 – 28 days
Editorial estimate
Agriculture & farming

Betel leaf cultivation (boroj)

Growing betel vine inside a bamboo-and-thatch boroj. About Tk 1 lakh a bigha to run, and in Rajshahi a bira of 64 leaves has gone from Tk 100-120 to Tk 4.

Capital
৳1 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
120 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Light manufacturing & workshop

Screen printing and t-shirt

Printing 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.

Capital
৳50k – ৳4 lakh
People
1 – 6
First income
15 – 45 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
Home & local services

Photography and videography

Shooting stills and video at events. Packages start at Tk 15,000, while a workable camera, lens and tripod cost about Tk 105,000.

Capital
৳85k – ৳4 lakh
People
1 – 6
First income
7 – 30 days
Market quote
Agriculture & farming

Mushroom cultivation

Spawn packets on indoor racks yield in 25-30 days. Cost is Tk 80-90 a kilo against Tk 250-300 selling, but outside Dhaka finding the buyer is the real work.

Capital
৳25k – ৳5 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
25 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Mobile and accessories shop

A shop selling phones, accessories and repairs. There is almost nothing in a handset — accessories and repair labour are what keep the shop open.

Capital
৳1 lakh – ৳5 lakh
People
1 – 3
First income
10 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Retail & wholesale

Hardware and sanitary shop

A shop selling rod, cement and sanitary fittings. Rod is Tk 92,500-94,500 a tonne and up 10 percent in a year, but the bigger question is when the contractor's credit comes back.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳5 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
15 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Digital & B2B services

Flat and land brokerage

Matching buyers and sellers for a commission. No separate government licence is needed for brokerage and the capital is a phone; Dhaka flats list from Tk 1 crore to Tk 11.5 crore.

Capital
৳1k – ৳1 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
30 – 270 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
Digital & B2B services

CCTV installation and maintenance

Installing and maintaining camera systems. Cameras are Tk 799-6,438 and recorders Tk 4,400-41,990, so cheap hardware has squeezed installation margins; the money is in annual maintenance contracts.

Capital
৳80k – ৳6 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Home & local services

AC and refrigerator servicing

Servicing and repairing air conditioners and refrigerators at the customer's address. March to June is overloaded and winter is near dead, so annual maintenance contracts are what carry the year.

Capital
৳60k – ৳4 lakh
People
1 – 6
First income
7 – 30 days
Editorial estimate
Food processing

Ground spice packaging

Grinding and packing spices for sale. A BSTI CM licence is compulsory: lab testing alone is Tk 2,900-5,300 per product and the licence takes 19-94 working days.

Capital
৳1.2 lakh – ৳7 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
30 – 135 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
Retail & wholesale

Plastic and household goods shop

A retail shop for buckets, mugs, chairs, dinner sets and water tanks. The factory prints the selling price, but nobody publishes the dealer's commission.

Capital
৳2 lakh – ৳9 lakh
People
1 – 4
First income
15 – 45 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
Light manufacturing & workshop

Welding and grill workshop

Cutting 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.

Capital
৳1.2 lakh – ৳6 lakh
People
2 – 8
First income
21 – 60 days
Editorial estimate