South Africa to Welcome BD investment in pharma, jute sectors

Bangladesh and South Africa flags

By Imtiaz Ahmed 

As economic engagement with traditional USA and EU markets slows down, Bangladesh’s economic engagement with the African continent crossed crossed 4.00 -billion US dollars in 2025-26 fiscal year and is expected to reach $5 billion mark within years, according to the data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh Bank and National Board of Revenue (NBR).                                                                                      

Among countries, Bangladesh -Morocco total trade stood at 1219.4 million in 2025-26 fiscal year as against 804.2 million in 2023-24 fiscal year, 739.3 million in 2023-24 fiscal year and 779.5 million in 2022-23 fiscal year, according to BB and NBR.

The African countries exported goods worth 3757.8 million US dollars to Bangladesh in 2022-23 fiscal year, 2839.00 million US dollars in 2023-24 fiscal year, 2,900 million dollars in 2024-25 fiscal year and 3380.4 million US dollars 2025-26 fiscal year.

Bangladesh exported goods worth 367 million US dollars to African countries in the 2022-23 fiscal year, 386.5 million US dollars in 2023-24 fiscal year.  417.7 million in 2024-25 fiscal year and $428.2 million during 2025-26 fiscal year    

Countries like Morocco (1197.5 million US dollars), South Africa (260.3 m dollars), Benin (391.4 m dollars), Burkina Faso (141.00 m dollars), Cameroon (162.7 million US dollars), Côte D’Ivoire (84.2 m dollars), Egypt 239.8 m dollars), Mali (140.5 m dollars) and Algeria (10.5m dollars) are the major sources of import among the African countries.  

Bangladesh expats living in the African countries sent home remittances worth 436.18 m dollars in 2021-22 fiscal year, $376.91 m in 2022-23 fiscal year, $507.79 m in 2023-24 fiscal year, $601.76 m in 2024-25 and $490.99 m in July—January 2025-26 fiscal year.

Considering the trade volume and remittances, Bangladesh’s economic engagement with African countries stood at 4299.59 million US dollars in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The African countries like Benin, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, in total, exported goods worth $1637.6 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year that dropped to $770.1 million in 2025-26 fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bank and National Board of Revenue (NBR). The Bangladesh Bank, Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh and The Bureau Statistics Division of the government should look at the matter regarding drop in the import bill.

Meanwhile, sources in Dhaka and Algiers said that once Bangladesh signed a deal with Algeria regarding import of petroleum goods, the economic engagement with the African countries will mark a jump.

A Bangladesh delegation led by Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood paid a courtesy call on Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb last month. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir and Bangladesh Ambassador to Algeria accompanied the delegation.

They discussed a wide range of issues to further advance bilateral relations for mutual benefit of Bangladesh and Algeria, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku said there was a huge scope for cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, agriculture, fertilisers, education, science, technology, sports and culture.

He called for enhancing trade and investment in the energy sector for the benefit of the people of the two countries.

The energy minister urged the Algerian authorities to collaborate in organising knowledge-sharing and training programmes for engineers and experts in this field.

The Bangladesh delegation meets Prime Minister of Algeria as a MoU was signed on energy sector cooperation.

State Minister Kobir expressed satisfaction over the signing of the MoU on cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons between Bangladesh and Algeria.

He commented that this engagement had opened a new horizon for Bangladesh to import LNG, LPG and other petroleum products from Algeria under a G2G mechanism and created avenues for adopting best practices in developing LNG infrastructure and exploring coal and gas fields in Bangladesh.

Kobir stressed the importance of exchanging high-level visits to further consolidate the existing bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Prime Minister of Algeria said the Algerian government attached due importance to further enhancing bilateral relations with Bangladesh.

He said there was ample scope for complementarity in trade, commerce, and investment between the two brotherly countries.   

Former vice president of MCCI and now MCCI member Habibullah N. Karim while talking to this correspondent said that Bangladesh’s economic prospects with African countries are bright.

Habibullah N. Karim, also managing director of Technohaven Company Limited, said that Bangladesh will post higher growth in the African countries in the coming days compared to North American, Latin American, European and Asian countries.

He said that the IT and service and pharmaceutical sectors have bright prospects in the African countries as the growth in USA and EU countries are being saturated.

As the USA is imposing strategic, economic and political pressures on Bangladesh since President Donald Trump came to power through the 2024 presidential election, Bangladesh should explore economic engagement with African countries, said a director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The United States had become Bangladesh’s second-largest trading partner after China while remaining its largest single export destination. Bilateral goods trade between Bangladesh and the US reached $12.67 billion in FY26 ($9.11 billion in exports and $3.56 billion in imports).

Expat Bangladeshis living in African countries sent home remittances worth $436.18 million in 2021-22 fiscal year, $376.91 m in 2022-23 fiscal year, $507.79 m during July-January period of 2025-26 fiscal year       

“South Africa, an important member of BRICS, has emerged as an important country to us”, said Bangladesh High Commissioner to South Africa Shah Ahmed Shafi to this correspondent.

He said that a number of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have set up export-oriented garment industries in South Africa generating employment of several thousand workers.

Shah Ahmed Shafi said that Bangladeshis, engaged in small retail business, are doing well and making good profit in the African country.

With a population of some 63.00 million and per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around 5700 US dollars, South Africa's GDP has been estimated at over 400 billion US dollars, the highest in Africa.

Shah Ahmed Shafi recently held a meeting with Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa Thamsanqa Ntuli and briefed him about the high potential of Bangladesh pharmaceutical companies.

Referring to a meeting with Premier of the province, he said South Africa is not interested to invite Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to set up pharmaceutical companies in his country

He said the top Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies can invest in this country and tap the African markets. In the past Bangladeshi companies sought permission to set up plants in South Africa only to be rejected.

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is a major economic hub in South Africa, ranking as the country's second-largest contributor to GDP after Gauteng.

Over the years Bangladesh has been working to increase economic engagement with African countries going beyond traditional countries like USA, EU countries, UK, Canada, South Asia Southeast, West and East Asian countries.

Bangladesh’s total exports to South Africa stood at 119.0 million US dollars in 2022-23, $119.5 million US dollars in 2023-24 and 124.2 million US dollars in 2024-25 fiscal year respectively, according to provisional data of statistics department of Bangladesh Bank

South Africa’s total exports to Bangladesh stood at 129.8 million US dollars in 2022-23, 206 m in 2023-24 and $176 m in 2024-25 fiscal year respectively, according to provisional  data of statistics department of Bangladesh Bank.

Bangladesh exported goods worth 38 million US dollars to South Africa during the months of July-August of 2025-26 fiscal year.

The growth of two months of 2025-26 fiscal year shows that Bangladesh’s export to South Africa is to post solid and sound growth in the coming month, said a member of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) while talking to this correspondent.

Bangladesh exported goods worth $119 million to South Africa during the months of July-August of 2024-25 fiscal year.

The official economic engagement with South Africa has crossed over 800 million US dollars in 2024-25 fiscal year –Bangladesh’s export to South Africa stood at $124.2 million, South African export to Bangladesh stood at $189.1 million and remittance worth 402.91 million US dollars came to the country.  It is to be mentioned here that as some 30 per cent remittance that comes through beyond banking systems is counted, said a Bangladesh official 

Expat Bangladeshis living in South Africa sent remittances worth 395.44 million US dollars to Bangladesh during July—January period of July-January period of 2025-26 fiscal year, setting a new record in contemporary time, sources said.

Expat Bangladeshis living in South Africa sent over 402.91 million US dollars home during July-June 2024-25. Sources said, some 30 per cent remittances come to the country beyond the banking system, said the Bangladesh diplomat.

Considering current export growth to South Africa and remittance flow to Bangladesh, the country can attain the $1.00 b mark in 2026, provided proper policy support is extended, said a banker.

Bangladesh diplomats said that Bangladesh Bank can give proper guidelines and incentives that will turn the African country into a major source of remittance.

Though reliable and credible statistics are unavailable, some half a million Bangladeshis live in South Africa and are engaged in small and medium businesses, according to rough estimates.

Meanwhile, South African High Commissioner to Bangladesh Professor Anil Sooklal laid emphasis on boosting trade and strengthening people-to-people contact between Bangladesh and South Africa, noting that the bilateral relationship remains below its potential, particularly in the economic sphere.

The envoy noted that an estimated 400,000 Bangladeshis are currently living in South Africa. “It’s a sizable presence. And I believe that is also an opportunity for us in terms of the relationship,” he said.

Md Solaiman Alam Seth, Honorary Consul of South Africa in Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh’s multilateral engagement with South Africa holds tremendous potential as the latter, a member of BRICS, is going to be an economic giant in the world economy in the coming days, said diplomats, business leaders and policy makers.

Bangladesh holds tremendous potential to increase engagement with South Africa in multilateral sectors as the latter, a member of BRICS, is going to be an giant in the world economy in the coming days, said Md Solaiman Alam Seth, Honorary Consul of South Africa in Bangladesh in an interview.

Solaiman praised steady economic growth of Bangladesh over the years, empowerment of women specially by the readymade garment sector, increasing enrollment of girls’ education, success in tackling disaster management and improvement in primary health and sanitation.