MrWeb's MR-a-thon

The country has a large population of around 150 million people, which has been turned into genuine human resource - the greatest resource of the country, followed by natural resources like gas, coal, timber, and fertile soil.

From a primarily poor agrarian country, Bangladesh has become an emerging economy, or an emerging tiger to better fit with the pride of being the land of the beautiful Bengal Tiger.

The country's economy (GDP) has been growing at a steady pace of 5-6 percent per annum, during the last 30+ years, despite natural calamities and political unrests. At present, the GDP (PPP) is around US$ 250 billion (2009), putting the country on the 48th position by size of world econo'y (IMF). It is also interesting to note that, while developed and many developing countries were (some still are) reeling under the pressure of global recession, 'Bangladesh growth was resilient during 2008-2009 global financial crisis and recession' (CIA Factbook, 2010).

As per UNDP's Human Development Index (HDI), Bangladesh is 146th out of 182 countries, which makes it a Medium HDI nation, above apparently more developed countries like Pakistan, Cambodia, Yemen, etc.

Despite the fact that Bangladesh is yet to be 'officially' recognised as a middle-income country, the share of different sectors shows a pattern similar to that of more developed countries, namely, Agriculture 45%, Manufacturing 30% (including pharmaceuticals, ready to wear garments, and light and heavy industries like electronics, cement, steel and ship building), Services 25% (banking/finance, telecom, IT, etc.).

Inflation rate hovers around 3-5%. Unemployment is around 2.5%, thanks mainly to the great human resources and great (even Nobel Prize winning) ideas. Bangladesh is the 'birth place' of the microcredit mechanism that can change the face of any 'poor' country (or even some rich countries).

How does/would an expat social and/or market researcher feel here?Bangladesh's survey research industry was 'born' in the early '80s. However, it has seen tremendous growth during the last four to five years, which is reflected by the fact that Bangladesh MR industry is the third fastest growing one in the Asia Pacific Region, only behind Japan and South Korea (Global Market Report 2009, ESOMAR-KPMG).

The expat survey researcher would be living in a country with 'subtropical-monsoon' type climate, experiencing Summer (Mar-Jun), Monsoon (Jul-Oct) and Winter (Nov-Feb). The temperature would, accordingly range from 36 degrees Celsius during peak summer to 8 degrees in winter.

S/he would most probably be working in a modern, technologically well-equipped and well-staffed office. S/he will, with highly professional colleagues, be using all methods of research, except on-line (due to relatively low penetration of the internet), although would be using 'high' speed (up to 1mbps) WiMAX, cable or mobile broadband for all web related work.

Bangladeshis are extremely friendly, warm hearted, guest loving, and always willing to cooperate/help. The expat researcher would experience this day in and day out - in the office, during the surveys (abundance of people from all walks of life willing to participate in exchange for a big smile and thank you), and after office hours. However, s/he would have to face the same type of demanding, 'always in a hurry', 'asking more for less' clients, as s/he would most probably be used to in his/her own country.

Bangladesh is a moderate Muslim, constitutionally secular country. Therefore, a foreigner can wear anything except a mini skirt; pass the evenings in clubs or bars, although there is no night club per se. The expat can enjoy golf on lush greens, specially early in the morning or in the late afternoon, with fellow expats and/or locals; work out in one of many of the well-equipped 'gyms'; enjoy watching cricket with a cricket crazy nation at the stadium, particularly when the country is hosting an international event or team, or simply relax at home and watch TV - with access to almost all major satellite channels in the world.

Bangladeshis love to eat and entertain their guests. Therefore, be it at home or in the countless restaurants, an expat can enjoy any cuisine from Western to Latino to Bangladeshi, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabian, Turkish ...hard drinks are not sold, but very courteously served, if brought along (foreigners have free access to licensed bars and bonded warehouses).

An expat can enjoy the diverse sights and sounds of Bangladesh by visiting the green outskirts, or taking a longer ride (or flying) to take a dip in the Bay of Bengal, touch and feel the longest sea beach in the world, visit centuries old archeological sites, see the spotted deer and the Roya' Bengal Tiger (from a distance) via a river ride to the world heritage rain forests - the 'Sundarbans'. Occasional cruises on the mighty Padma, Meghna, Jamuna and Brahmaputra rivers, running through this deltaic country, offer a mixture of relaxation, excitement and magical touch of natural beauty.

Shopping is fun and pretty inexpensive by any standards. Expats can have ready to wear or bespoke clothing of their choice at unimaginably low prices. Besides clothing, ornaments (gold, real pearl) are also an attractive buy (bargaining is widespread). They would also love buying and collecting hundreds of different types of handicrafts from fixed shops (or shopping malls), or from hawkers at the frequently held cultural fairs.

For telecommunication, anybody can enjoy one of the lowest mobile phone rates in the world (and also see virtually everybody using a mobile phone, with 50 million users and 3 million new user acquisitions every month, and six mobile operators in the market). An expat can forget about roaming, subscribe to a local operator and enjoy anything from Blackberry service to pay as you go - the choice of handsets and brands is almost 'unlimited'. Westerners can also put behind the concept of 'locked' accounts or handsets.

Despite all the 'goodies', an expat should not forget that Bangladesh is a densely populated developing country. S/he will have to face traffic congestion on even the widest of boulevards, due to which it is wise to leave office/home at least forty-five minutes before a scheduled appointment; should always drink bottled water, which is widely available in different sizes (from carry along to use at home); be wary of snatchers, if enjoying a ride on a rickshaw, and learn to ignore pesky beggars on the streets. S/he will also have to get used to power outages (called load-shedding), because the country is struggling to cope with the ever increasing demand for electricity. During the outages, s/he will have to bear the humming of generators allover (offices, shops, homes). Luckily, the load-shedding is 'managed', i.e. it is done in an area by area (of around 5 square kilometers) manner, and doesn't last for more than an hour at a stretch. Each area would most likely experience 6-8 cases of load-shedding per day during peak summer. Late evenings and nights are usually spared. Cooler days and winters are a blessing.

Finally, it would not at all be an exaggeration to say that the initially reluctant to come to Bangladesh researcher will more reluctantly leave, taking along fond memories of friendliness, love and warmth of the locals, the mouth watering dishes, and the natural beauty of the country.