Home Decoration and Home Textiles Bangladesh

CBI carried out the Home Decoration and Home Textiles (HDHT) Bangladesh project. We did this together with the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh (EPB), Bangladesh Handicrafts Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Banglacraft), Jute Diversification Promotion Centre (JDPC) and the ECOTA Fair Trade Forum. The project aimed to boost the export potential of the HDHT sector in Bangladesh, particularly to Europe. 

CBI's activities focused on:

• Supporting selected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMes);
• Increasing export revenue;
• Creating better job and income opportunities, especially for women;
• Establishing sustainable exports to the EU. 

The project also focussed on building capacity in areas like product development, design and export marketing and promotion. 

A total of 25 companies took part in this CBI project.

The following results have been achieved at company level: 

The 25 companies received coaching/training to prepare them as well as possible for successful EU market entry. Main areas of attention: 

• EU market information;
• Strategy development/export marketing planning including writing an Export Market Plan (EMP);
• Production related subjects including supply chain management;
• Production efficiency;
• Environmental issues/waste management;
• CSR;
• Product (range) development/design;
• Export promotion including advising on website improvement and preparing for matchmaking activities. 

Achievements

• During COVID-19, many companies were supported in keeping their companies afloat, resulting in a higher level of resilience;
• Companies learned how to think more strategically through the EMP trajectory;
• Participants have gained more knowledge on the EU HDHT market, including market access/buyer requirements;
• Companies have developed attractive products and more effective product ranges to better meet EU buyer demand.
• Companies acquired practical knowledge and skills on preparing and participating in international trade fairs, including Ambiente and Maison et Objet.
• Companies learned the added value of organising a local matchmaking event (Source Bangladesh) to reach local representative offices of major international buyers.
• Eighteen companies realised export to the EU/EFTA.
• Cumulative exports to the EU/EFTA increased fivefold from EUR 2.4 million at the beginning of the project (2019) to EUR 11.9 million at the end of the project (2024). The exports to non-EU/EFTA increased more than fourfold from less than EUR 1 million to nearly EUR 4 million.
• Employment growth was nearly fivefold (1729 FTE in 2019 to 8.146 FTE at the end of 2024). Female employment had the biggest share (87% in 2024) and showed the biggest increase from 1157 FTE in 2019 to 7111 FTE at the end of 2024.
• Beedy Binders project: around 600 extremely poor rural women who lost their very low-paid jobs as cigarette rollers due to COVID-19 have been trained in making HDHT crafts in collaboration with one of the CBI participants (Crafts Villages) and Dutch importer van der Sar. As a result, their daily earnings went up tenfold.

The following results have been achieved at sector level 

In consultation with stakeholders, relevant areas of CBI support identified were:

• Export readiness;
• Product development/design;
• Market research/intelligence;
• Export marketing and promotion. 

We achieved the following results:

Product development/design

The project completed the following two interventions to strengthen this capacity in Bangladesh.

• In collaboration with the Arts College of the Dhaka University, a special HDHT curriculum for a Graduation/Master's Course has been developed to create a continuous pool of graduates with knowledge on export-oriented product development/design;
• Train-of-Trainer Product Development. In total 10 trainers completed this ToT training trajectory.

Export marketing and promotion

• An export readiness tool has been developed.  Banglacraft and Ecota have integrated the tool in their new websites and export trainings;
• Capacity building trajectory on organising group participations in international trade fairs for 18 staff members of Banglacraft, ECOTA and JDPC carried out;
• Improved websites of Banglacraft and ECOTA;
• Capacity building of the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau on market research, including developing a Bangladesh export promotion portal (https://epb-bangladesh-export.com);

Contact companies from this project

Are you a European importer interested in HDHT from companies in Bangladesh? Contact CBI for more information or to meet with suppliers in this project.