Real experiences, published anonymously and with permission.
A hogla-leaf handicraft producer in Fulbaria, Mymensingh, in a Samakal report
Light manufacturing & workshopMymensingh
He learned the craft at a Dhaka handicraft firm while still in class nine, returned home in 2016 and set up production. The unit now turns out about 1 crore taka of goods a year, and women weaving at home earn 5,000-6,000 taka a month.
A couple making water hyacinth handicrafts in Santhia, Pabna, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopPabna
They started in 2020 after seeing water hyacinth goods at a Dhaka buyer's place. They now buy 50-60 maunds of fresh hyacinth a day at 100-120 taka a maund, clear 30,000-40,000 taka a month after costs, and give work to 60-70 people.
A jute-goods manufacturer in Kamalganj, Maulvibazar, in a Daily Star report
Light manufacturing & workshopMoulvibazar
Before March 2020 the factory made jute toys for export and employed 50 people. After the pandemic the workforce fell to 15 and the product changed to bags for the domestic market; no lender would advance credit because her bank account showed too little turnover.
A cottage-industry owner in Khansama, Dinajpur, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopDinajpur
Began on 31 October 2016 selling from a van. The unit now makes 30-35 lakh taka of hogla, jute and twine goods a month for more than 2 lakh taka of profit, with 54 permanent and over 250 contract workers.
Batik workshop owners in Kamalpur village, Cumilla, in a Samakal report
Light manufacturing & workshopCumilla
Kamalpur village turns over 40-45 crore taka a year across 15-20 batik workshops. One owner makes 60-70 taka a piece, but the cost of cloth and chemicals and a shortage of artisans are pushing others out of the trade.
A nakshi kantha entrepreneur in Jashore, in a Business Standard Bangla report
Light manufacturing & workshopJashore
Started in 2011 with 10,000 taka; sales now run at 4-5 lakh taka a month, about 50 lakh a year, with more than 5,000 people stitching. The same report puts a stitcher of twenty years on 3,000 taka a month.
A hand-embroidery entrepreneur in Rangpur, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopRangpur
Started in 2021 with about 10,000 taka of cloth and thread. A 2.5-lakh-taka overseas order was rejected over poor cloth sourced through a relative, costing about 45,000 taka; after taking sourcing back into her own hands the page now sells 3-4 lakh taka a month.
The owner of a small garment unit in Saidpur, Pabna, in a Daily Star report
Light manufacturing & workshopPabna
A unit of 18 workers sending jackets and t-shirts to India, Nepal and Bhutan. A 5-lakh-taka bank loan had been cleared by selling land; after two months shut from March 2020, the 21-year-old business closed for good.
The owner of a garment factory in Mirpur, Dhaka, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopDhaka
Started in 2009 with 26 lakh taka of second-hand machines. Exports peaked at 41 lakh US dollars in 2023 and fell to 17 lakh by 2025; the factory closed in August 2026 with nine months of rent unpaid.
The owner of a garment unit in Sherpur, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopSherpur
She began with 10 taka in hand and a sewing machine bought on installment. A 1998 training course and a 25,000-taka loan became a training centre, and the business now carries about 50 lakh taka of investment, 200 workers and about 1 lakh taka a month of her own income.
A jackfruit-biscuit maker in Sreepur, Gazipur, in a Prothom Alo report
Food processingGazipur
Two months into trial production the biscuits sell 20-25 kg a day at 850 taka for a one-kg box, but buyers call them too sweet, too fragile and too expensive, and BSTI says jackfruit biscuit is not on its biscuit standards list at all.
A husking rice mill owner in Adamdighi, Bogura, in a Prothom Alo report
Food processingBogura
A conventional husking mill spends about 2,400 taka a maund to produce rice that sells for 2,250, losing 150-200 taka on every maund. In the upazila 233 mills have closed and about 7,000 workers have lost their jobs.
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