Real experiences, published anonymously and with permission.
A homemaker in Chattogram city, a children's clothing entrepreneur
Retail & wholesaleChattogram
A homemaker in Chattogram started with Tk 15,000, making children's clothes and punjabis for the local market. With Tk 30,000 borrowed from a relative she opened a showroom and now owns a boutique and a beauty parlour.
A young software firm owner in Jashore
Digital & B2B servicesJashore
A young man from Jashore began in 2015 with an e-commerce site while still a student and now runs a firm doing software, networking and data work. He says funding, winning customers and running costs are the big hurdles for young founders.
A young tea-shop entrepreneur in Jashore town, in a Prothom Alo report
Food processingJashore
A young man in Jashore town quit his job in November 2023 and opened a shop around his mother's date-jaggery tea recipe. The shop, open from afternoon to 11 pm, sells 100-150 cups a day.
A craftsman-owner of a mic and sound service in Lalmohan, Bhola, in a Prothom Alo report
Home & local servicesBhola
A craftsman in Lalmohan, Bhola lost everything to river erosion, joined a fishing boat at 15 and became an engine mechanic. He began renting batteries and mics in 1997 and now rents and repairs sound systems with his son.
Clay-tile factory owners in Kalaroa, Satkhira, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopSatkhira
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.
A mobile-shop owner-entrepreneur in Bagha, Rajshahi, in a Prothom Alo report
Retail & wholesaleRajshahi
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.
A four-brother layer poultry farm in Birol, Dinajpur, in a Prothom Alo report
Agriculture & farmingDinajpur
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.
A duck farmer in Mirzaganj, Patuakhali, working abroad in Saudi Arabia, in a Prothom Alo report
Agriculture & farmingPatuakhali
A young man in Mirzaganj, Patuakhali started duck farming in 2020 and lost about 400 ducks to disease in one day. He went to Saudi Arabia, learned from YouTube and now runs a restarted farm through his family by video call, making Tk 2-3 thousand a day.
A mobile duck farmer in Faridpur upazila, Pabna, in a Prothom Alo report
Agriculture & farmingPabna
A farmer in Pabna has for 20 years moved a flock of ducks through crop fields and wetlands, selling the eggs. Feed is almost free, so costs are low, and his monthly income after costs is close to Tk 1 lakh.
A woman crab farmer in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, in a Prothom Alo report
Agriculture & farmingSatkhira
A woman in Shyamnagar, Satkhira took a loan in 2020 and began soft-shell crab farming on a rented pond. Five family members work in shifts to avoid labour cost, and profits have funded a shrimp gher and a semi-brick house.
A woman coffee and fruit grower in Jaldhaka, Nilphamari, in a Prothom Alo report
Agriculture & farmingNilphamari
A woman in Jaldhaka, Nilphamari planted coffee on fallow land beside her home in 2018, later adding rambutan, cocoa and dragon fruit. Yields have not been even, yet she earns about Tk 30,000 a month after costs.
A betel farmer in Jhikargachha, Jashore, in an Ajker Patrika report
Agriculture & farmingJashore
A farmer in Jhikargachha, Jashore planted an Indian betel variety on 18 katha and earned Tk 24 lakh in three years from leaves and cuttings. Cyclone Amphan damaged the garden in 2020 and that year brought no profit.
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