The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Textile Innovation Exchange (TIE) today on 01 April 2026 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the BKMEA Dhakaoffice, formally onboarding BKMEA as an ‘In Association Partner’ of TIE’s flagship programs, including the Partnership for Implementation of Innovation Circles (PIIC), Textile Innovation Awards (TIA), Textile Innovation Expo (TIExpo), and the Annual International Research Conference.
Both parties expressed the urgency of creating an innovation mindset across the textile and apparel sectors, acknowledging that the era of cost-effective labour and abundant energy and resource availability is fading. In this shifting landscape, innovation must be installed as the core competence of the sector for Bangladesh to remain globally competitive.
The MOU was signed at a ceremony attended by Mr. Mohammad Hatem, President of BKMEA, and Mr. Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Executive President of BKMEA. From TIE, Engr. Ehsanul Karim Kaiser, Chairman; Engr. ASM Tareq Amin, Member Secretary; Mr. Enamul Hafiz Latifee, Strategic & Reporting Lead; and Mr. Amzad Hossain Monir from Textile Today Innovation Hub were present. BKMEA Secretariat officers were also present during the MOU signing ceremony.
Under this partnership, BKMEA, representing over two thousand five hundred knitwear member factories, will facilitate member outreach, encourage professional participation in TIE’s capacity-building and innovation implementation programs, and provide venue support for jointly organised events. TIE will design and deliver factory-relevant training, innovation methodologies, and recognition frameworks aimed at transitioning the sector from cost-based competitiveness to innovation-driven, evidence-led performance.
The collaboration envisions preparing six hundred to eight hundred mid-to-top-level professionals annually with disciplined problem-solving and continuous improvement capabilities in the knitwear sector, reinforcing Bangladesh’s global positioning as an innovation-capable textile and apparel manufacturing base.
