Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) IATI Reporting: November 2019 - June 2020 Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) is a 4-year research initiative by BRAC University that aims to map the export-oriented ready-made garment (RMG) industry across all garment-producing districts in the country. MiB’s design and implementation is in response to the lack of essential sector data, such as, the actual number of factories that exist in the country, the number of male/female workers employed there, the kind of products they produce, the brands that work with them, etc.

In line with the nation’s “Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021”, with the MiB tool, the RMG industry is expected to come one step closer to aligning itself to the mandated digitization of every sector. MiB (formerly “DRFM-B” – Digital RMG Factory Mapping in Bangladesh) is being implemented by BRAC University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) and coordinated by BRAC. The project is funded by Laudes Foundation with the co-funding by the Kingdom of the Netherlands (through EKN – Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands).

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) are the strategic partners of the project. The project is also supported by Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of Bangladesh. The objective of Mapped in Bangladesh is to provide accurate, credible and updated RMG factory information to all industry stakeholders in a manner that enables greater efficiency, productivity, accountability and transparency. Designed and built in Bangladesh, this powerful tool serves as a home-grown solution that further strengthens the country’s significant and thriving RMG industry. 

The project aims to collect primary data about the export-oriented RMG industry and disclose information to the public in the form of an interactive online map. Driven by a collective action approach, Mapped in Bangladesh seeks input from all stakeholders through its crowd-sourcing platform, in order to keep the data accurate and up-to-date.

Because of the growing need for credible, industry-wide data on the number of factories, their locations, number of workers, and much more, challenges remain across the Bangladesh RMG industry. This project is the first of its kind, providing a detailed industry-wide database of export-oriented RMG factories on an interactive, digital map (similar to Google Maps). This new platform is publicly accessible in order to catalyze transparency and bring about meaningful industry improvements in Bangladesh, and thus strengthen the sector as a whole. MiB endeavors to do census of all the export-oriented ready-made garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh and to provide accurate, credible and updated factory data that can generate various reports for major stakeholders, like brands and buyers, to make informed business decisions. The key target impact that the project seeks to achieve is the launch of a transparency mechanism used by the industry. This is the first ever project to digitally map the sector and provide an opportunity to understand the universe of export-oriented RMG factories in Bangladesh. The Project, through its mapping and relationship building, will fuel Bangladesh’s RMG industry advancements and inspire shared responsibility and collective action. 

Mapped in Bangladesh can serve as an example for progress in the global garment industry, by taking into account what is learned in Bangladesh and applying it on an even larger scale. Mapped in Bangladesh strives to ensure the “Made in Bangladesh” brand represents the future of manufacturing ready-made garments, where strengthened and responsible practices are the norm.