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This letter was originally sent to LightCastle Bimonthly Newsletter subscribers.
As 2024 comes to a close and we begin 2025, I hope you have taken the time to reconnect with your near ones and recharge your batteries. Drawing the curtains and reflecting allows us to ascertain strategic imperatives for the year ahead.
2024 has been a mixed year. Conflicts have continued, economies have stumbled and inequality has increased. Bangladesh also underwent a transformative change in July-August amidst a student-led revolution. While we all hope for reforms, moving forward is no easy task. The economy is already strained with a fragile banking sector riddled with non-performing loans (~10% of total loans officially and unofficially is projected to be 25%) and capital flight (~ USD 100 Bn), double-digit inflation (~10.5% in FY23-24), rapid devaluation of BDT against USD (1 USD = 86 BDT to 120 BDT within 2 years) and widespread red tapism and corruption.
However, with the interim government established under the leadership of Noble Laurette Dr. Muhammad Yunus, reforms are now on the horizon. We are witnessing changes in key leadership positions including Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), and the appointment of a new Supreme Court Chief Justice. The change in leadership across government regulators will inevitably positively impact our governance structure, enhancing rule of law and improving business climate. The country eagerly waits for meaningful reforms in 2025 with a democratic election scheduled for 2026.
At LightCastle we continue to stay with our founding vision of inspiring businesses, boosting economy, and changing lives working towards the goal of building a more inclusive economy. We plan to do so by tackling major challenges that the world faces today, including rising income inequality, impacts of climate change and growing unemployment. Here is a snapshot of some of our work this year.
To bring in more equity and work to reduce unemployment and underemployment, we have launched SheSTEM with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands (EKN). In partnership with 10 Minute School, a2i, Policy Exchange and Devlearn – SheSTEM is devoted to enhancing industry-academia collaborations, increasing employability skills, and advocating for gender equitable practices.
To combat inequality in food systems and to ensure agricultural development along with Larive International in partnership with EKN, we are working as Poultry Tech Bangladesh which comprises leading players from various stages in the poultry value chain, facilitating Bangladeshi companies to provide integrated solutions. The partnership strengthens business relations between stakeholders in the Dutch and Bangladeshi poultry value chain, resulting in increased trade, investment, capacity development, knowledge & technology transfer, and policy advocacy engagements, contributing to a more competitive and sustainable poultry sector in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s majority export (85%+) is garments & textile sector, employing 4 million people (60% female). To future-proof the sector including decarbonization, circularity, automation, geopolitical transition, and increasing global competitiveness, LightCastle is spearheading Bunon 2030 initiative, supported by the H&M Foundation, The Asia Foundation as part of the Oporojita program. Bunon empowers Bangladeshi women garment workers in the advent of Industry 4.0.
Supporting entrepreneurs has been a key agenda for us to foster economic growth. We continue to work with impact enterprises more notably through our signature program Biniyog Briddhi – a gender-inclusive programme supporting a thriving impact ecosystem in Bangladesh where impact enterprises can grow and scale. This programme is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland and implemented by Roots of Impact and LightCastle Partners.
As we draw the curtains on 2024, we want to thank each and every one of you for supporting us. Whether we had the privilege to work with you as a partner or had the opportunity to connect with you through our network – we are extremely grateful to he associated with you.
We wish you all the best for 2025 and we hope to build an inclusive future together.
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