BIDA’s Big Bet: Bangladesh Investment Summit Set to Spotlight Key Sectors Amid Gaps
The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is set to launch the Investment Summit 2025, beginning Monday, with participation from over 600 local and international investors representing more than 40 countries, including the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea. The four-day summit will culminate with its official inauguration on Wednesday, April 9, at the InterContinental Hotel in Dhaka.
However, a visit to BIDA’s summit portal on Sunday night revealed critical information gaps. Notably, details regarding the first sectoral seminar scheduled for April 7—focused on key areas such as agriculture and agro-processing—were missing, raising concerns about preparedness.
According to sources, a seminar on "Future of Education, Jobs, and EdTech Investment" is scheduled for Monday, April 7, at 2:45 PM, featuring prominent speakers including ULAB Vice Chancellor Professor Imran Rahman, Meta South Asia Public Policy Head Sarim Aziz, BDJobs Managing Director Fahim Mashroor, Kiron COO Tajdin Hassan, and Ten Minute School founder Ayman Sadiq.
On the final day, April 10, a key session on the digital economy will take place from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, featuring four panel discussions and 18 speakers, co-hosted by Citibank N.A. and UNDP. Topics will range from opportunities in foreign direct investment in the digital sector, growth in electronics and semiconductors, and expansion in the IT/ITES sectors, to infrastructure development, fintech innovation, and PPP models.
Yet, some sessions appear significantly underrepresented. The seminar titled “Future Destination of IT-enabled Services” has only two confirmed speakers: Mir Sharukh Islam, Co-founder of Bondstein Technologies, and an official from the Foreign Exchange Policy and Investment Department of Bangladesh Bank.
In another session exploring the potential of the semiconductor industry, Citibank will not have any representatives, despite five of its officials being featured across other sessions. This panel will include Ulka Semi CEO Enayetur Rahman, Green Quest Co-founder Mashuq Rahman, and EY’s Abhishek Gupta.
A session on “Inclusive Digital Growth Through Technology”, moderated by Citibank Director Mohammad A. Akhtar, will feature Rohit Jamal, Citibank South Asia’s Head of Public Sector Solutions; Yanfan Zhong, Director of Global Public Policy & Government Affairs at Ant International; Sarim Aziz of Meta; and Jon Omund Revhaug, CEO of Telenor Asia.
Interestingly, apart from Grameenphone, no representatives from other major telecom operators or digital finance companies like bKash or Nagad are listed as speakers, raising questions about inclusivity and sectoral representation in the summit’s key technology-focused discussions.
