By Imtiaz Ahmed and Samia Tabassum ||
High migration cost, undocumented and unregistered, of a section of Bangladeshis in South Africa and nexus of a group of brokers both in Bangladesh and South Africa has been a matter of concern to the Bangladesh government, stakeholders said.
Bangladeshi diplomats who worked and are working in South Africa said Bangladeshis should enter South Africa through the proper legal system.
The normal and legal system of migration is likely to cost 3-4 lakh that costs 10-12 lakh through brokers, even through risking lives, said a Bangladeshi diplomat.
He said members of civil society, government organizations, politicians, business leaders, migration specialists, teachers and religious leaders should have organized social awareness about high-risk and illegal migration.
In recent times, South African government has launched a drive against illegal and undocumented migrants
The business turnover in South Africa is better than counties in western countries and several thousand Bangladeshis have become millionaires. He also said some 250,000 Bangladeshis are living in South Africa and most of them are doing small businesses with a good turnover. …….
The Bangladesh high commission in South Africa held a series of meetings with the African government to give a duration of 3-5 years to regularize and document them………
The Bangladesh mission in Pretoria has also started issuing passports and NIDs to Bangladeshis and is working hard to render services to Bangladeshi communities, said a Bangladeshi diplomat while talking to the Bangladesh Mail…
In June this year, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the nation to announce a raft of new measures to crackdown on illegal migration as tensions rise over anti-foreigner marches and frustrations about high unemployment, according to BBC
These steps include jailing employers who hire undocumented workers, setting up dedicated courts to speed up deportations of undocumented migrants and having a register with biometric data “for every person in the country” to stamp out identity theft.
Anti-migrant groups are demanding undocumented migrants leave the country—and have set 30 June as the deadline….
South Africa has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the world at around 33%—mainly affecting young people…
Bangladesh is working to increase economic engagement with the African continent and is expected to cross one billion US dollars in a couple of years, said Bangladesh High Commissioner to South Africa Shah Ahmed Shafi while talking to the Bangladesh Mail on Saturday evening…
“South Africa, an important member of BRICS, has emerged as an important country to us” said Bangladesh High Commissioner to South Africa Shah Ahmed Shafi
He said that a number of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have set up export-oriented garment industries in South Africa generating employment for several thousand workers.
Shah Ahmed Shafi said that Bangladeshis engaged in small retail business, are doing well and making good profit in the African country.
With a population of some 63.00 million and per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around 5700 US dollars, South Africa’s GDP has been estimated at over 400 billion US dollars, the highest in Africa.
Shah Ahmed Shafi recently held a meeting with the premier of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, Thamsanqa Ntuli and briefed him about the high potential of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical companies.
He said South Africa is not interested in inviting Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to set up pharmaceutical companies in his country
He said the top Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies can invest in this country and tap the African markets. In the past Bangladeshi companies sought permission to set up plants in South Africa only to be rejected.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is a major economic hub in South Africa, ranking as the country’s second-largest contributor to GDP after Gauteng.
Over the years Bangladesh has been working to increase economic engagement with African countries going beyond traditional countries like USA, EU countries, UK, Canada, South Asia Southeast, West and East Asian countries.
Bangladesh’s total exports to South Africa stood at 119.0 million US dollars in 2022-23, 119.5 million US dollars in 2023-24 and 124.2 million US dollars in 2024-25 fiscal year respectively, according to provisional data of statistics department of Bangladesh Bank
South Africa’s total exports to Bangladesh stood at 129.8 million US dollars in 2022-23, 206 million US dollars in 2023-24 , 176 million US dollars in 2024-25 fiscal year and 133 million US dollars respectively, according to provisional data of statistics department of Bangladesh Bank
The economic engagement with South Africa has crossed over 700 million US dollars and the figure will cross over 800 million US dollars as some 30 percent remittance that comes through beyond banking systems is counted, said a Bangladesh official
Expat Bangladeshis living in South Africa sent 63.43 million US dollars to Bangladesh during the month of September 2025 setting a new record in contemporary time, sources said.
Expat Bangladeshis living in South Africa sent over 402.91 million US dollars home during July-June 2024-25 setting a new record. Sources said beyond the banking system, some 30 percent of remittances come to the country beyond the banking system, said Shah Ahmed Shafi.
Considering current export growth to South Africa and remittance flow to Bangladesh, the country can attain this growth in 2026 or 2027, provided proper policy support is extended, said a banker.
Bangladesh diplomats who worked and are now working said that Bangladesh Bank can give proper guidelines and incentives that will turn the African country into a major source of remittance.
Meanwhile, South African High Commissioner to Bangladesh Professor Anil Sooklal laid emphasis on boosting trade and strengthening people-to-people contact between Bangladesh and South Africa, noting that the bilateral relationship remains below its potential, particularly in the economic sphere.
Md Solaiman Alam Seth, honorary consul of South Africa in Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh’s multilateral engagement with South Africa holds tremendous potential as the latter, a member of BRICS, is going to be an economic giant in the world economy in the coming days, said diplomats, business leaders and policymakers.
Solaiman praised steady economic growth of Bangladesh over the last 50 years, empowerment of women specially by the readymade garment sector, increasing enrollment of girls in education; success in tackling disaster management and improvement in primary health and sanitation over the last 50 years.
Bangladesh holds tremendous potential to increase engagement with South Africa in multilateral sectors, as the latter, a member of BRICS, is going to be an economic giant in the world economy in the coming days, said Md. Solaiman Alam Seth, Honorary Consul of South Africa in Bangladesh in an interview.
As Bangladesh was largely dependent on the US and the European Union markets for its garment exports, it could now make attempts to explore the African markets, he said.
To a question, he said that South Africa is exporting the possibility of setting up a diplomatic mission in Dhaka to help boost trade and business.
South Africa is deeply interested in setting up a world-standard maritime university to groom necessary manpower required in deep-sea exploration.
Presently, Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in the social and economic development areas. Child mortality, life expectancy, child literacy and especially girl child literacy are good examples of the tremendous progress in this country during the last years.
He said that South Africa has successfully replicated micro-credit model in its country to combat poverty and uplift the living standard of poor people
He said the microcredit model has been successfully introduced in her country to alleviate sufferings of the poor. Meanwhile, a seven-member South African business delegation during their visit to Bangladesh in March 2024, has expressed their interest in investing in this country, especially in the readymade garment (RMG) sector.
