‘Best of Bangladesh’ Headed to Amsterdam
Best of Bangladesh in Europe, which will take place in Amsterdam on Sept. 4-5, is refining the concept of transformative journeys, making a point to bring policy makers, manufacturers and brands together to talk about ways apparel from the South Asian nation can be more widely integrated into the global matrix.
“It’s a journey that has been more than 10 years in the making,” Mostafiz Uddin, CEO and founder Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) told Sourcing Journal. “BAE is organizing the event, which is supported by the Bangladesh Embassy to the Netherlands. The idea and importance of these events is getting more refined with each edition. I was doing events since 2014, including the denim expo in Bangladesh. But I’ve been waiting for the right time to take these to the next level,” he said.
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BAE also organized the first Bangladesh Circular Economy Summit in Dhaka in June, and has planned for the first Bangladesh climate conference for the fashion industry on Oct. 12.
“People think Bangladesh is a poor country, with fighting and cheap garments, but Bangladesh has strengths in many other categories which we will showcase. We will also have panels with experts from different parts of Europe, including policy makers, representatives of non-government organizations, the International Labor Organization and others, and the location in Europe lends itself to a stronger presence from countries across the region. Netherlands is also a base for the International Accord, Fashion for Good, Good Fashion Fund, etc,” he said.
The timing is important too, as the European Union’s stringent sustainability targets for 2025 and 2030 draw nearer. “Small manufacturers and players are being cut out, and the bigger manufacturers are getting more focus, and being asked to make huge investments,” said Uddin. “These targets are important, but what about the human quotient? What is the impact of this, and how are jobs being affected by these targets?”
The Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands, Riaz Hamidullah, said, “Netherlands is the 16th largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, Bangladesh is 35th in terms of nominal GDP. For almost five decades Bangladesh has been in the developing category. Now, we are looking at Bangladesh at the intersection of business and finding ways to meet these challenges. Every challenge is a business proposition.”
Mentioning a population of 170 million people, of which an estimated 30 million belong to the fast-growing middle class, Hamidullah said that the Dutch were increasingly looking at Bangladesh through the lens of impact investments, and finding that “even in the villages people are receptive to technological advancements.”
“You don’t go and put your money where you don’t find the society stable, harmonious, inclusive. They say returning investment is important, but the key part is how strong is the society, how cohesive is it. This is where Bangladesh is very strong,” he said.
He noted that post Brexit, more than two dozen companies had shifted their headquarters to the Netherlands which was being seen as the capital for business and trade, innovation and finance.
The event would have the strongest representation from the apparel sector, which accounted for 84 percent of the country’s $55 billion exports in this fiscal year ending June 30, with apparel exports of 46.99 billion, up from the previous years $42.61 billion, a gain of 10.3 percent.
Other sectors like agriculture, digitization, leather, jute, handicrafts, pharmaceutical and light engineering will also be showcased at the event. “Bangladesh is a manufacturing hub from shirts to ships, but the potential to look beyond that is enormous, too,” Hamidullah pointed out.
Last week, commerce minister Tipu Munshi said that Bangladesh’s commerce ministry set an export target of $72 billion for fiscal 2023-24, which targets growth of 11.5 percent.
The inauguration at the event will include Jan Peter Balkenende, former prime minister, Netherlands and minister of state; Tipu Munshi, commerce minister, Bangladesh; and Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, Bangladesh. There will also be a panel on worker safety in which Alexander Kohnstamm, executive director, Fair Wear Foundation, Ashish Damle, Bangladesh country director for Oxfam, and Peter McAllister, executive director, Ethical Trading Initiative, will participate.
