Abdullah Hil Rakib, Vice President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Managing Director of TEAM Group, outlines the gaps in the nation’s RMG industry and the progressive approach needed to close them.
What are the challenges of the Bangladesh apparel industry in the coming years?
As an industry benchmark, our skill matrix is a challenge. We must invest heavily in upskilling our workers. This applies to mid-level and the whole management systems as well, corporatising the entire industry, from people to process. There are successful modules between people to people, but there should be a successful, established process-driven module which has to be replicated in the industry to have a sustainable, optimum level of efficiency.
We must have a wage versus productivity analysis. If our productivity does not reciprocate or complement wage levels, it’s going to be tough for us. Having said that, the efficiency should not be in terms of worker productivity only. It’s about supply chain, management, financial control, and financial management. The entire ecosystem should be efficient. We are also working on product, market, and fibre diversification. We are undoubtedly trying, but we have to work hard on each of those.

VICE President, BGMEA
Managing Director, TEAM Group
With the newly elected board of BGMEA which has recently taken charge, of which you are one of the Vice Presidents, how does the Association plan to address the upcoming challenges of the industry?
There are several long-term challenges for which we must set up a plan that is effective beyond the tenure of 2 years – at least till 2030. There are some immediate issues in terms of government, internal challenges in customs, the NBR, and finding common grounds. The revenue agencies need to understand the growth of the business and be responsive to our needs. Putting the industry first will result in industry growth, thereby sustaining the revenue streams. It is therefore very important to have a positive dialogue with relevant correspondence from NBR and correlated ministries such as industry, commerce, finance as well as with the central bank. I believe that we need to think about non-fiscal policy supports to take on the upcoming challenges. Discussion points revolve around Bangladesh’s LDC graduation and WTO restrictions of not giving incentives. We need to study what other nations like India are doing where they also have WTO-related challenges. BGMEA has a lot of challenges ahead, and with the newly elected president, S M Mannan Kochi, we are committed to doing our best. The processes of the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) are one of the challenges we need to address. We have to bring the RSC to a commitment with a service-level understanding for our members.
We are also trying to establish a unified code of conduct for compliance where the international customers can come to a single platform to endorse it. Negotiating powers must also be addressed because not everyone has the same opportunity to negotiate. For instance, we have a minimum wage benchmark but we should also have a minimum price benchmark, which would empower the majority of factory owners.
A one-stop service for all the members is another aim that we have. The aim is to empower all the members to have their issues sorted, be it issues related to revenue agencies, regulatory agencies, financial institutions, buyers forum, etc.
Over the next 2 years, these are some of the things, among others, we will be focusing on and we will do our best to make sure that all these challenges can be addressed.
As one of the trustees of BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT), what are your thoughts on bridging the gap between the country’s apparel industry and academia?
It is quite frustrating that after almost 40 years, this gap still exists. Our contribution to foreign currency earnings is almost 84%, and to the GDP 11%. However, none of our public universities have fashion designing, textile technology, or apparel manufacturing technology included in their curriculum. The BUFT was established with the goal of reducing dependency on foreign consultants, workers, and mid-level management, who are paid close to a billion dollars each year. These are hard-earned dollars that are being drained out, but this is something we can address by having a robust academic structure.
What Bangladesh needs are qualified, proper graduates who will be able to contribute and support the RMG industry and take on upcoming challenges. BUFT is working on upgrading and updating its curriculum and faculty members with industry-specific knowledge. The approach is to not only have an in-depth grasp of Bangladesh’s RMG industry but also have a proper understanding of revolutionary topics such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, AI, machine learning, blockchain etc. We want BUFT students to be fully equipped and capable by the time they graduate to join and contribute to the RMG industry of Bangladesh.
Industry-academia partnership will help achieve this and also initiate research projects to help improve processes. With the never-ending changes that I see happening in technology and innovation, the next two decades will be very disruptive. The entire concept of the industry might change. So, we must reduce our reliance on hiring someone from outside, and look inward to keep supporting this 47-billion-dollar industry.
What Bangladesh needs are qualified, proper graduates who will be able to contribute and support the RMG industry and take on upcoming challenges.
Your company TEAM Group has witnessed exponential growth within a short span of time. What contributed to its success and what does the growth trajectory look like?
Hard work, commitment and teamwork are the foundation of TEAM Group’s success. When we started in 2009, we had a common goal and a vision set for 2025. We diligently worked towards that and we are almost there. We now have immediate goals for 2030 and long-term plans for 2040.
In the beginning, TEAM Group took a strategic approach to revive dead manufacturing plants to bring new life to them – a solution carved to tackle a lack of capital funds. While that was the strategy, what really fuelled us were our values – ownership, excellence, recognition, and reward. Each one of our colleagues firmly believes in their contribution to the growth of TEAM Group, and that they must excel at their roles.
Until 2017, TEAM Group focused on trading and manufacturing garments. Between 2017 and 2020, we started pharmaceuticals, real estate, IT, and retail. By 2030, our goal is to achieve a billion-dollar turnover. There is a lot of planning and management involved, especially because there is a risk of our demographic dividend window expiring by 2040. In light of our LDC graduation by 2030, I also see a lot of potential in other industries.
Creating something is tough, but keeping its speed and growth is tougher. That is why we are already thinking of a succession plan – for those in the future who will keep the company going in our absence. I believe that if we can create a process-driven, people-centric platform, this company, regardless of its shareholders, will continue to contribute to the economy of this country.
Photographs by Najmul Haque Sagor