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Published on April 19, 2022

SDG Investor Mapping: New Tool to Attract Investors in SDG Implementation in Bangladesh


UNDP SDG Impact’s global initiative to map country-specific SDG investment opportunities concluded its Mapping Study in Bangladesh recently. The study narrowed down Investment Opportunity Areas (IOAs) for specific sector in collaboration with stakeholders from appropriate government, private sector, and development partners. The standard methodology of the UNDP SDG Impact was implemented while preparing the Investor Mapping content, yet these were customized to suit the local context. During the preparation of SDGs Investor Mapping, public (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Prime Minister’s Office), development partners (ADB, BRAC), and private stakeholders (Bangladesh Angles Network, Start-Up Dhaka, Biniyog Briddhi, Truvalu Bangladesh, HSBC, Aviskaar), were consulted to identify the IOAs. 

The investor mapping considers the country’s national priorities to come up with a range of IOAs, using the following set of actions: (1) Define the national priority starting point, (2) Identify critical subsectors to focus on (3) Identify priority subregions to focus on and Derive specific ‘investment opportunity areas. Relevant Gender and Marginalization data for each Sector, Sub Sector, IOA has been considered a cross-cutting issue, thus integrated into the mapping system, to offer the private sector a truly holistic view, to help them better design/codesign their business plans. 

The outcome of the investor mapping reveals that Bangladesh has 6 sectors (infrastructure, renewable energy, health, education, financial, food & Beverage), 13 sub-sectors, and 16 relevant IOAs where climate Finance is cross-cutting to many of them. The study compiles all information related to IOAs such as existing policy environment, market size, return of investment timeframe, relevant stakeholders. As an example, Investor Mapping presented Renewable Energy as one of the investment sectors with two Investment Opportunity Areas: (1) Solar Technology (Electric Vehicle using solar power, Solar Charging Stations for EVs), and (2) Solar Technology (Rooftop Solar System, Solar Home System, Irrigation, power plants, improved cook-stoves) & Biofuels (Biomass energy). Along with above mentioned sectorspecific IOAs, a comprehensive outlook on investment opportunities-the pros and cons with reference to impeding policies or the business environment and data which can be used by the private sector to make an informed decision.

The analytics of Investor Mapping can contribute to co-designing bankable projects linking INFF Bangladesh priority SDG areas: Water & Sanitation, Renewable Energy, and Climate Actions. The excel based final version of Bangladesh SDG Investor Mapping will be shared in INFF global platform to expedite the additional resource mobilization in SDGs implementation in Bangladesh.