Success and failure stories

13 years in a Malaysian furniture factory, then a six-room rented workshop: 7 staff, Tk 30,000-40,000 a month

A craftsman back from Malaysia has opened a furniture and door workshop in Abadpukur bazar, Raninagar, Naogaon, using his skill with digital wood-carving machines. Lack of space keeps it below full capacity, but it earns Tk 30,000-40,000 a month.

Ran for

18 months

Mother and daughter weaving shitalpati for 20 years: mats sell for Tk 200-1,200, hand fans for Tk 100-300

A woman in Chhatak, Sunamganj, has made and sold shitalpati mats, hand fans and baskets of bamboo and cane at village markets for about 20 years, supporting her household with her daughter. She now wants to grow sales through the internet.

Ran for

240 months

A small tehari shop in Dhanmondi: daily sales fell from Tk 2-2.5 lakh to Tk 70,000-80,000

A small tehari shop in Dhanmondi opened in 1987, and a staff member later became its owner. Around 2010-11 it sold Tk 2-2.5 lakh a day, but crowds of lookalike-name shops have cut that to Tk 70,000-80,000.

Started in 1987

Tk 32 lakh spent on a malta-orange orchard; Tk 22 lakh of fruit sold in the first harvest, then a Tk 10 lakh flood loss

A former migrant worker in Pekua, Cox's Bazar, planted a four-acre mixed orchard after watching YouTube. He sold Tk 22 lakh of fruit from the first harvest, but a July flood the next season cost him about Tk 10 lakh.

Capital

৳32 lakh

Ran for

24 months

Started in 2023

At a Kuakata arot, one trawler's 195 maunds of hilsa auctioned for Tk 40.14 lakh

At an arot at Alipur fish landing centre in Patuakhali, one trawler's 195 maunds of hilsa sold at auction for Tk 40.14 lakh. The trawler owner said catches had been low for a long time and caused losses, which this sale would partly make up.

Started with Tk 92,000 and 3 workers, now 35 workers; yet raw-material prices make loan repayment hard

A couple in Uttara began in 2010 with Tk 92,000 of savings, packing and selling nuru, moa and other village snacks. They later got their own factory, machines and international certificates, but rising raw-material prices now make it hard to keep going.

Capital

৳92k

Started in 2010

Fifteen years repairing phones and fans from a footpath stall; lack of capital keeps it small

A man with a disability in Chattogram learned phone and electric fan repair while working in shops and has supported his family for about 15 years from a temporary footpath stall. With little capital he holds little stock and cannot expand.

Ran for

180 months

One cow bought with Tk 50,000 from earrings grew to 60 in 20 years; a flood killed cattle worth about Tk 30 lakh

A homemaker in Noakhali started by selling gold earrings for Tk 50,000 to buy one Friesian cow; the farm now has 60 animals and four workers and nets about Tk 1 lakh a month. Covid, floods and feed prices have squeezed income.

Capital

৳50k

Ran for

240 months

Export tiles to Italy: 20 factories running where there were 41, and no profit per tile now

Export tile-making began in Kalaroa, Satkhira in 2003 and many factories followed, but falling exports and shortages of labour and clay have left fewer than half running. A GI registration process is under way and owners are pinning hope on it.

Started in 2003

A mobile shop in Bagha started with Tk 20,000: partner split, a Tk 3 lakh loan, then two branches

A businessman in Bagha, Rajshahi opened a mobile shop with a friend for Tk 20,000 while still a student. After the partner split and a big loss, a new opportunity let him open two branches, and he later expanded into other sectors.

Capital

৳20k

A 9,000-layer farm swung from a 25-paisa loss per egg to a Tk 1.45 profit

A four-brother layer farm in Birol, Dinajpur had an egg production cost of Tk 9 two months earlier and sold below that. As heat cut output and prices rose, profit is now Tk 1.45 per egg, but farmers complain about price-setting and import pressure.