Background

As Bangladesh prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, it faces both challenges, such as the loss of trade preferences and opportunities to enhance its global competitiveness and resilience.

To support this transition, the UK government-funded UNDP Transformative Economic Policy Programme (TEPP-II), launched in July 2024, works to strengthen trade policy, inter-ministerial coordination, and private sector engagement; especially women’s participation—through data-driven reforms. Aligned with national priorities and the UK’s TEPP framework, the programme aims to improve Bangladesh’s overall trade and investment climate.

Key Outputs and Activities

TEPP will strengthen institutional capacity through the following key outputs:

Output 1: Advisory and capacity development support to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to enhance policy analysis, coordination, and negotiation capacity in trade-related areas.

Output 2: Analytical and advisory support to MoC and stakeholders to identify trade barriers, generate evidence, and recommend actionable solutions to improve trade competitiveness.

Output 3: Capacity development support to BIDA to strengthen policy capability and institutional capacity for effective investment promotion and facilitation.

Output 4: Advisory and analytical support to BIDA to identify investment barriers and implement solutions that enhance the overall investment climate.