Mobilising Investment and Innovation for Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) Enterprises to Promote Bioeconomy in Bangladesh

About the Workshop

Bangladesh is one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies, with a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem emerging rapidly in its urban centers. However, the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT), a unique mountain and forested region remains marginalised in national policy, entrepreneurship support, and investment access. The area is rich in biodiversity, indigenous knowledge, and nature-based resources that offer strong potential for bioeconomy development, NbS-based enterprises, and green livelihoods particularly for youth and women.

ICIMOD aims to extend its Nature-Based Solutions enterprise work, successfully piloted in Nepal and Bhutan, to Bangladesh by fostering investment mobilisation, innovation, and ecosystem building for green and inclusive mountain entrepreneurship.

This workshop serves as the first step in co-creating a Bangladesh chapter of the GIREE Alliance, strengthening partnerships with government, private-sector actors, accelerators, incubators, and development agencies working in CHT. The dialogue will explore opportunities to replicate proven models from Nepal and Bhutan, catalyse investment, and build a supportive ecosystem for NbS-based bioeconomy enterprises in Bangladesh.

Objectives

The workshop aims to:

• Mobilise dialogue and partnerships to unlock investment for nature-based, green, and inclusive enterprises in Bangladesh, with a focus on the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT).
• Establish the GIREE Bangladesh Chapter as a national platform to coordinate ecosystem actors supporting mountain-focused enterprise development.
• Identify priority bioeconomy opportunities and scalable NbS-based products and business models relevant to the CHT context.
• Strengthen collaboration among government institutions, development partners, investors, incubators, and accelerators to co-create context-specific enterprise solutions.
• Generate baseline insights on the CHT entrepreneurship ecosystem to inform a country-specific mountain entrepreneurship strategy aligned with the HKH Mountain Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (MEE) framework.

Expected Outcomes

• A draft roadmap for establishing the GIREE Bangladesh Chapter, outlining roles, partnerships, and priority areas for collaboration.
• Identification of investment opportunities and financing pathways for NbS and bioeconomy enterprises in the Chattogram Hill Tracts.
• A preliminary mapping of innovation areas and enterprise opportunities for mountain-focused bioeconomy development in Bangladesh.
• Strengthened multi-stakeholder partnerships and a visible pipeline of promising NbS-based enterprises positioned for future scale, investment, and regional integration within the GIREE network.

Background

Mountain and hill regions across South Asia face persistent structural constraints, including limited infrastructure, weak market access, fragmented support systems, and heightened climate vulnerability. Within Bangladesh, the Chattogram Hill Tracts face persistent gaps in enterprise development and investment mobilisation, despite strong potential in areas such as medicinal plants, forest-based products, high-value horticulture, eco-tourism, and cultural crafts.

ICIMOD’s experience in Nepal and Bhutan demonstrates that NbS and bioeconomy driven enterprises can generate sustainable livelihoods, enhance biodiversity conservation, and attract private capital when supported through coordinated incubation, mentorship, government engagement, and market linkages. Bangladesh now stands at a strategic juncture to adapt and scale these models, leveraging the GIREE Alliance and local partners such as BetterStories to build an inclusive and resilient entrepreneurship ecosystem for the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT). Bangladesh now stands at a strategic moment to adapt and scale these models, leveraging GIREE Alliance networks and local partners like BetterStories to build an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem for the Chattogram Hill Tracts.