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On November 20, 2025, LightCastle Partners formally commenced its engagement with SME Foundation to develop a 5-Year Strategic Plan (2026–2030). The initiative will be implemented over an 18-week period, during which the partners aim to strengthen SME Foundation’s strategic positioning, institutional capacity, and program effectiveness within Bangladesh’s SME ecosystem.
SME Foundation, established under the Ministry of Industries, serves as the apex institution for advancing small and medium enterprise development in Bangladesh. With over 1.18 crore MSMEs employing more than 7.3 crore people, the sector plays a critical role in economic growth, employment generation, and inclusive development. The strategic planning exercise will support SME Foundation in recalibrating its mandate and delivery approach amid evolving market dynamics, technological change, and macroeconomic uncertainty.
The strategy development process will follow a participatory and evidence-driven methodology, combining institutional diagnostics with ecosystem-level analysis. Over the course of the engagement, LightCastle Partners will conduct internal capacity assessments, market and stakeholder analysis, policy reviews, and international benchmarking. The process will also include key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and extensive consultations with government agencies, financial institutions, private-sector actors, development partners, and SME clusters.
The Strategic Plan will be aligned with key national frameworks, including the National SME Policy, Industrial Policy, Bangladesh Bank SME regulations, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will also integrate relevant international best practices to inform program design, governance structures, and implementation sequencing.
As part of LightCastle Partners’ SME Foundation agreement, LightCastle Partners will deliver a comprehensive Strategic Plan Handbook, supported by an implementation roadmap, key performance indicators, a manpower and resource plan, and a monitoring and evaluation framework. Through this process, the partnership aims to strengthen SME Foundation’s role as a central catalyst for SME growth, innovation, and competitiveness in Bangladesh.
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