The Institute of Management Consultants Bangladesh on Monday urged the government to increase the mandatory participation of local consultants to 60 per cent from the existing 30 per cent in development projects where Bangladesh has proven expertise.
They also demanded formulating a management consultant act.
The demands were raised at a pre-convention press conference marking International Consultants Day 2026, held at a hotel in the capital.
IMCB chairman M Zakir Hossain said Bangladeshi consultants had developed strong expertise in a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, energy and power, procurement, finance, marketing, human resources, public-private partnership projects, economic zones, environmental compliance and small and medium enterprises.
He said foreign experts should be engaged only in highly specialised areas where local expertise is unavailable, adding that Bangladeshi professionals were fully capable of leading assignments in many sectors.
‘The current provision requiring 30 per cent local consultants should be raised to at least 60 per cent in fields where national expertise is already established,’ he said.
Zakir also highlighted what he described as discriminatory remuneration practices in consultancy projects.
He said foreign consultants are often paid between $1,000 and $1,200 a day for projects in Bangladesh, while local consultants receive only $200 to $300 for similar work.
He argued that the disparity was unjustified, noting that Bangladeshi consultants frequently earn between $900-1,500 a day when working in foreign countries.
The IMCB chairman further stressed the need for a statutory regulatory authority for management consultants, similar to professional bodies overseeing doctors, engineers and lawyers, to ensure ethical conduct and accountability within the sector.
He said greater recognition of the certified management consultant designation was also needed in both public and private sectors, as the certification serves as an independent guarantee of professional competence, transparency and ethical integrity.
Zakir said the consultancy market had become increasingly fragmented, making it difficult for clients to distinguish qualified professionals from unqualified practitioners.
IMCB president Nadeem A Chaudhury said the institute was established in 1997 to create a credible and internationally aligned platform for management consulting in Bangladesh and currently operates under a licence from the commerce ministry.
He said IMCB holds permanent membership in the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, enabling it to award the internationally recognised CMC designation in Bangladesh.
Nadeem outlined the organisation’s major achievements, including professional training programmes, postgraduate diploma courses in management consulting, sector-specific expertise development and international networking initiatives.
During the event, speakers also said engaging CMC-certified local consultants in government and public-sector projects could produce results comparable to those delivered by foreign consultants while significantly reducing foreign currency outflows.
They argued that greater utilisation of domestic expertise would generate direct economic benefits for the country and should be reflected in future procurement and consultant selection policies.
The speakers also noted that as Bangladesh prepares for graduation from the least developed country category, businesses will face tougher international competition and require greater support for productivity enhancement, skills development, quality management, and compliance with standards.
They said IMCB plans to significantly expand its membership base through professional training and certification programmes and is seeking government support for capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the country’s consulting industry and reduce dependence on foreign firms for major national assignments.
