The agreement was formalised on 22 July at the BKMEA Dhaka office, with BKMEA director Minhaz Hoque and Open Supply Hub stakeholder engagement director Hannah Lennett signing on behalf of their organisations.
The collaboration is set to provide BKMEA and its member factories with a means to tap into the advantages of open supply chain data.
Exports from Bangladesh's knitwear sector rose from $12.05bn in the fiscal year 2013-14 to $25.74bn in 2022-23. Over this decade, the sector has seen an average annual growth rate of approximately 10.23%.
Open Supply Hub operates as a global platform for supply chain mapping that is both free and accessible. Its mission is to promote the development of safe and sustainable supply chains by offering detailed and transparent information about facilities and their connections within international supply networks.
BKMEA, a trade body within Bangladesh's knitwear sector, represents around 2,540 member factories. The association focuses on maintaining the competitiveness and sustainability of the country's knitwear industry on the global stage, while also analysing trade policies to support the sector's growth.
Under this new MoU, BKMEA and Open Supply Hub will work to publish BKMEA’s member list on the Open Supply Hub platform, ensuring that each member factory is assigned an OS ID and can manage their own data.
The partners will also help BKMEA member organisations maximise the benefits from their participation in open supply chain data sharing.
This development follows closely on the heels of another MoU signed last month between BKMEA and Swisscontact, an independent non-profit development organisation.
This agreement with Swisscontact sets the stage for joint initiatives aimed at bolstering sustainability at the factory level, improving employee skills, and advancing social responsibility in knitwear manufacturing facilities.
The partnership will particularly target the empowerment of women and young workers, the adoption of renewable energy technologies, and support for factories striving to achieve elevated environmental and social benchmarks.
