The World Bank is helping Bangladesh diversify exports beyond the garment sector.

The project will improve the competitiveness of existing and potential export-oriented industries such as leather, footwear, plastics and light engineering, where Bangladesh has demonstrated a competitive edge.

The project will help create more than 90,000 jobs in sectors other than readymade garments. It will help the economy to integrate further into the world trading system, and provide better jobs to Bangladeshi youth entering the labor market in the next decade, with a particular focus on improving female labor participation.

Firms will be able to access international markets and enhance their ability to comply with international standards through awareness building and matching grants.

There will be support to marketing and branding efforts to strengthen linkages to existing and new markets. The scheme will also address the shortage of skills development, especially in industrial training for women, as well as in infrastructure and technology.

Also, the project will encourage training to improve skills and labor productivity, and thus help generate better-paid jobs.

Bangladesh is the largest garment exporter in the world after China. Although the garment sector constitutes 82 per cent of exports, employment growth in the sector has stalled. However, the other manufacturing sectors have been generating about 3,00,000 new jobs annually since 2010.