Collaboration: Global Development Network (GDN)
Starting date: September 01, 2026
Completion date: April 30, 2027

Project description: This project examines who is being left out of Bangladesh’s digital public infrastructure, and why. While the country has made notable progress in digital identity, public service delivery, and digital payments, a significant number of people, particularly women in rural areas, older persons, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities, still face barriers to accessing these systems.

The study focuses on the Smart NID as the entry point to digital services, along with myGov and the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB). It combines a nationally representative survey with in-depth qualitative work, including interviews and group discussions with excluded communities and a closer look at beneficiaries of recent social protection programmes.

Team leader:
Dr Selim Raihan, Principal Investigator

Team members:
Zubayer Hossen, Coordinator and Statistician
Farhan Khan, Data Analyst
Takrem Ferdous Surid, Data Visualisation Analyst
Dipa Das, Research Associate
Sudeepto Roy, Research Associate