Real experiences, published anonymously and with permission.
A deed writer in Tarash, Sirajganj, in a Dainik Ittefaq report
Digital & B2B servicesSirajganj
A deed writer in Tarash, Sirajganj, registered a 1.5-bigha plot bought for 726,000 taka in his own name instead of the buyer's; his licence was cancelled once the complaint was substantiated.
Two young founders of an online coconut delivery business in Dhaka, in a Prothom Alo report
Digital & B2B servicesDhaka
It began with 100 coconuts bought for 8,000 taka at Karwan Bazar; total investment is now about 10 lakh taka, with 12 staff and average sales of 25 lakh taka a month.
The chief executive of a small travel agency in Dhaka, in a BBC Bangla report
Digital & B2B servicesDhaka
When an online travel agency shut down in August 2025, one small agency was left with 22 lakh taka of tickets bought in advance; a Motijheel police case alleges 4 crore and 79 thousand taka taken from 17 agents.
Customers of an agent banking outlet in Raipura, Narsingdi, in a Dhaka Post report
Digital & B2B servicesNarsingdi
The operator of an agent banking outlet in Raipura, Narsingdi, never passed customers' deposits to the main branch and disappeared on 21 January 2024 with at least 10 crore taka.
Customers of an agent banking outlet in Nikli, Kishoreganj, in a Bangla Tribune report
Digital & B2B servicesKishoreganj
An agent banking outlet in Nikli, Kishoreganj, took more than a crore taka from over a hundred customers on a promise of 1,100 taka per lakh - 11 per cent - and the agent fled in February 2024.
A mason from Dinajpur working in Dhaka, in a Desh Rupantor report
Light manufacturing & workshopDhaka
A mason who worked twelve years in Dhaka was never paid about 1.5 lakh taka of his wages; another lost 90,000 over ten years, and one contractor left 30 workers stranded together.
A rickshaw garage owner in Mirpur, Dhaka, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopDhaka
A battery rickshaw returns 300 taka a day in rent against 100 for a pedal one, which is why a repair hand opened his own garage - but each rickshaw needs a 1,000-taka monthly token to run at all.
An e-waste trader in Dhaka, in a Business Standard report
Light manufacturing & workshopDhaka
An e-waste business started in 2001, when dead phones and computers sold at 20-30 taka a kg, now needs 14 licences and about 10 lakh taka a year to renew them.
The owner of a printing press in Babubazar, Dhaka, in a Prothom Alo report
Light manufacturing & workshopDhaka
Paper-based inputs rose about 30 per cent in a week just before the book season: white print paper up 25,000 taka a tonne to 135,000-160,000, and newsprint from 64,000 to 85,000.
A hand-painted signboard artist in Koyra, Khulna, in a Khulna Gazette report
Light manufacturing & workshopKhulna
A hand-painted signboard shop set up in Koyra, Khulna, in 1983 has lasted more than 36 years, but digital centres have all but ended the market for brush-painted signs and banners.
Digital printing press owners in Patuakhali, in a Jagonews24 report
Light manufacturing & workshopPatuakhali
A district convention held after 23 years kept more than 13 digital presses in Patuakhali running for 15 days; single presses took around 5 lakh taka of orders, and the district total came to roughly half a crore.
An officer of the Dot Sign print works in Mirpur, in a Business Standard report
Light manufacturing & workshopDhaka
The Dot Sign works held on to an Italian buyer through Covid, but its monthly order book fell from around 2 lakh pieces of cloth to 50,000 or less.
