To make doing business easier, simplify procedures before digitalising them

About a decade ago, I attempted to export recycled jute sacks to Australia and the United States. Obtaining a jute export licence required collecting multiple documents from several offices, completing a multi-stage procedure, and securing approvals from several officials. The process was so cumbersome that I abandoned the project. Having recently reviewed the licensing requirements, I found that little has changed, other than the partial digitalisation of the same cumbersome procedures.

I witnessed a similar experience with an Australian entrepreneur who planned to establish an export-oriented opal jewellery factory in Bangladesh. Although he had already leased premises and installed machinery, he abandoned the investment after becoming entangled in the company registration and licensing process. The factory he later established in the Philippines now exports millions of dollars' worth of opal jewellery worldwide.

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These are anything but isolated stories. They are unfortunate illustrations of how unnecessarily complex administrative procedures can discourage entrepreneurship, drive away investment, and deprive Bangladesh of valuable employment, exports, and economic growth.

In the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings, Bangladesh stood around 168th out of 190 economies. Starting or expanding a business often requires multiple approvals, repeated office visits, and extensive paperwork, making the process slow and costly. The result is higher business costs, reduced foreign direct investment (FDI), and greater opportunities for corruption through unnecessary delays and discretionary approvals. To overcome these challenges, Bangladesh needs three interconnected reforms: Business Process Redesign (BPR), comprehensive digitalisation, and a genuine One-Stop Service (OSS).

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Pillar one: Business Process Redesign (BPR)

Digitalisation alone cannot fix a broken system. A common mistake is to move existing bureaucratic procedures online without first questioning whether they are necessary. If a business must submit multiple documents containing the same information and obtain several similar approvals from different agencies, automating those requirements merely digitises inefficiency.

Before digitalisation, every process should therefore be mapped from beginning to end and tested against three basic questions: whether the step protects a genuine public interest, whether the information or approval is duplicated elsewhere, and whether each required document provides genuinely necessary information that is not already available from another source. Procedures and documentation requirements that fail these tests should be eliminated, merged, or simplified.

Regulation should also be risk-based. Low-risk businesses should receive simplified or automatic approvals, while greater scrutiny should be reserved for activities that pose genuine risks to public safety, health, revenue, or the environment. New Zealand illustrates the benefits of this approach, where straightforward business registration can be completed in minutes, while activities carrying greater public risk—such as liquor licensing and food safety—are subject to more rigorous regulatory scrutiny. Any new regulation should undergo a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to ensure that its public benefits outweigh the compliance costs it creates. Wherever possible, regulatory checks should be consolidated under a single responsible agency rather than duplicated across multiple authorities.

Another essential reform is clear task ownership backed by decentralised authority. Instead of passing a task through multiple officials and layers of approval, each case should, wherever practical, be assigned to a single designated officer or unit with the authority, expertise, and access to information needed to coordinate with other agencies and deliver a decision within defined limits. This requires meaningful decentralisation across ministries, departments, and field offices. Decision-making authority should be delegated to the lowest competent level, accompanied by clear accountability. The guiding principle should be: one task, one accountable owner, adequate authority, and clear responsibility for delivery.

Documentation should follow the same principle. If information is already available through a trusted government database, another document should not be demanded merely to verify the same facts. The priority should be to provide the information once, verify it at source, and reuse it across all agencies. Finally, every process should have a statutory processing time. Missed deadlines should result in automatic approval for low-risk services, such as reissuing a lost HSC certificate, and automatic referral to a higher authority for higher-risk cases, such as issuing a food safety certificate for a restaurant. The guiding principle of BPR is straightforward: simplify first, assign clear ownership, decentralise authority, then digitalise.

Pillar two: Comprehensive Digitalisation

Digitalisation is central to improving the ease of doing business and reducing corruption. But it must mean more than replacing paper forms with online forms. A truly digital system should cover the entire journey—from application and verification to payment, approval, and final delivery. Government databases should be integrated so agencies can securely exchange verified information rather than repeatedly asking businesses for the same data. A national digital document vault should store verified licences, certificates, and records for retrieval by authorised agencies.

Routine applications should use rule-based decision-making. Where clearly defined legal conditions are met, approvals should be automatic, with human intervention reserved for complex or high-risk cases. Access should be role-based, ensuring officials can access only the information required for their responsibilities, while every action—from viewing and editing to approving or rejecting an application—is automatically logged.

Digital signatures and verifiable electronic certificates should replace physical stamps and paper documents, and all payments should be made through secure digital channels. Public dashboards should display processing times, pending cases, and compliance with service standards. Together, these measures would enhance transparency and accountability while significantly reducing opportunities for corruption.

Pillar three: A genuine One-Stop Service

A central goal of business-service digitalisation is a genuine One-Stop Service: one portal, one account, one application, and one coordinated response. Applicants submit information once, while the system routes applications to relevant agencies for parallel processing, and delivers a single decision within a defined timeframe. This is not a theoretical model. Estonia’s X-Road infrastructure and digital identity system allow businesses to draw on verified information from existing registries rather than repeatedly supplying the same data. Singapore’s GoBusiness platform follows a similar logic for regulated activities, and enables applicants to access and apply for relevant licences through an integrated digital service.

Consider a jute export licence application. The applicant submits the required information online, after which the system automatically validates the application, verifies information against existing databases, and routes the case electronically to relevant agencies or specialists for parallel processing. Any request for additional information is sent by email or SMS, while the final decision, together with reasons and appeal options, is communicated to the applicant online. A designated officer remains accountable for coordinating the process and ensuring a timely decision.

The reforms outlined here—process redesign, comprehensive digitalisation, and a genuine one-stop service—are achievable with sustained political commitment. Bangladesh already has the foundations, including digital identity, electronic payments, and growing experience in online public services. This transformation need not involve a sweeping overhaul of the entire system of governance. It can be implemented gradually—sector by sector and service by service—starting with high-impact areas and expanding as public servants and citizens adapt to the new approach. The cost of inaction extends far beyond a poor international ranking; it is reflected in lost investment, lost jobs, and the continued normalisation of corruption.

Saifur Rahman is a senior IT specialist at the Australian Public Service. 

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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