The delivery layer outside the state
The NGO Sector
Bangladesh's NGO sector is among the largest in the world, delivering microfinance, health, and humanitarian programmes at a scale the state often cannot. This is the civil-society side of the twin: the type mix, who regulates each organisation, the eras the sector was built in, and the chief executives who run the largest names.
By focus
Who regulates them
When the sector was built
Organisations by the era they were founded. More than half of those tracked date to the 1972 to 1990 post-independence wave.
The roster
| Organisation | Focus | Chief executive | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| ActionAid Bangladesh | Human rights | Farah Kabir | 1983 |
| Ain o Salish Kendra | Human rights | Faruq Faisel (Executive Director) | 1986 |
| Association for Social Advancement | Microfinance | not recorded | 1978 |
| BRAC | Multi-sector development | Asif Saleh | 1972 |
| BRAC Institute of Governance and Development | Research | Imran Matin | 2013 |
| BRAC International (Stichting BRAC International) | Multi-sector development | Shameran Abed (Executive Director) | 2009 |
| BURO Bangladesh | Microfinance | Zakir Hossain | 1990 |
| Bandhu Social Welfare Society | Health | Shale Ahmed (Executive Director) | 1996 |
| CARE Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Ram Das | 1949 |
| COAST Foundation | Rural development | Rezaul Karim Chowdhury | 1998 |
| Caritas Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Francis Atul Sarker (Executive Director) | 1967 |
| Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed | Health | Mohammad Sohrab Hossain (Executive Director) | 1979 |
| Development Initiative for Social Advancement | Microfinance | Md. Shahid Ullah | 1993 |
| Dhaka Ahsania Mission | Multi-sector development | KM Zahiduzzaman | 1958 |
| Eco-Social Development Organization | Multi-sector development | Muhammad Shahid Uz Zaman | 1988 |
| Friendship | Multi-sector development | Runa Khan (Founder and Executive Director) | 2002 |
| Gana Unnayan Kendra | Rural development | M. Abdus Salam | 1985 |
| Gonoshasthaya Kendra | Health | Abul Kashem Chowdhury (acting chairperson) | 1972 |
| Grameen Bank | Microfinance | Sarder Akhter Hamed | 1983 |
| Integrated Development Foundation | Microfinance | Zahirul Alam | 1992 |
| International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh | Research | Tahmeed Ahmed (Executive Director) | 1978 |
| Islamic Relief Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Talha Jamal | 1991 |
| Jagorani Chakra Foundation | Microfinance | not recorded | 1975 |
| Manusher Jonno Foundation | Human rights | Shaheen Anam (Executive Director) | 2002 |
| Mukti Cox's Bazar | Rural development | Bimal Chandra Dey Sarker | 1996 |
| Nijera Kori | Human rights | Khushi Kabir (Coordinator) | 1980 |
| Oxfam in Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Ashish Damle | 1970 |
| Padakhep Manabik Unnayan Kendra | Microfinance | not recorded | 1986 |
| Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation | Microfinance | Md Fazlul Kader | 1990 |
| People's Oriented Program Implementation | Microfinance | Murshed Alam Sarkar | 1986 |
| Plan International Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Kabita Bose | 1994 |
| Proshika Centre for Human Development | Multi-sector development | not recorded | 1976 |
| RDRS Bangladesh | Rural development | Manik Murmu | 1972 |
| Resource Integration Centre | Rural development | not recorded | 1981 |
| SAJIDA Foundation | Multi-sector development | Zahida Fizza Kabir | 1993 |
| Save the Children in Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Shumon Sengupta | 1970 |
| Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women | Microfinance | Humaira Islam | 1992 |
| Sightsavers Bangladesh | Health | Amrita Rejina Rozario | 1973 |
| Society for Social Service | Microfinance | Abdul Hamid Bhuiyan | 1986 |
| Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha | Multi-sector development | Hosne Ara Begum | 1980 |
| Transparency International Bangladesh | Human rights | Iftekharuzzaman (Executive Director) | 1996 |
| United Development Initiatives for Programmed Actions | Microfinance | Md. Emranul Huq Chowdhury | 1984 |
| WAVE Foundation | Rural development | Mohsin Ali | 1990 |
| WaterAid Bangladesh | Environment | Hasin Jahan | 1986 |
| World Vision Bangladesh | Humanitarian | Suresh Bartlett | 1970 |
Method and sources
Source: the BDPolicyLab NGO Watch tracker, 45 organisations compiled from each body's official site and governance pages, the NGO Affairs Bureau and Microcredit Regulatory Authority registers, and reported profiles, each record carrying its own source list (150 sources in total). 15 hold a Microcredit Regulatory Authority licence; a chief executive is recorded for 40 of 45. 39 are headquartered in Dhaka, a concentration typical of the sector's national bodies. Loan-portfolio and expenditure figures are held only at the record level where an official number exists and are not totalled here, because the tracker leaves dated or unverified financials blank rather than carry a stale figure. For every organisation, see NGO Watch.