Every morning, millions of Bangladeshis head to work: rickshaw drivers weaving through chaotic traffic, construction labourers on scaffolds, garment workers beside heavy machinery, street vendors under the sun, and transport workers carrying the weight of our cities. They are the silent engine of our economy, yet they work without a safety net.
When an accident strikes, a family's stability collapses overnight. Medical bills pile up, wages vanish, children drop out of school. What begins as an accident becomes a generational setback. The International Labour Organization estimates that more than 85 percent of our workforce operates outside formal employment, without insurance or disability benefits. Research by The Daily Star and BRTA shows over 24,000 lives lost each year in road and workplace accidents. Behind every number lies a family forever changed.
Consider Rahim, a rickshaw driver earning 12,000 taka a month. He has no employer, no benefits, no safety net. If an accident takes his life, his wife faces crushing debts and his children leave school within months. If he is injured and cannot work, the family borrows from loan sharks at punishing rates. For Rahim and millions like him, a single accident does not just mean lost income. It means financial collapse.
But what if protection cost less than a cup of tea? What if ten taka a day could stand between a family and financial ruin? That is the promise of Shurokkha, a digital micro-insurance model designed for Bangladesh's informal workforce. It is not charity. It is empowerment through affordable, accessible protection.
For ten taka daily, or 150 taka a month, a worker receives meaningful coverage: 100,000 taka for accidental death, 25,000 for disability, and 10,000 for child education. These sums can cover months of income, hospital care, or keep a child in school when tragedy strikes. For Rahim, that 100,000 taka payout could clear debts and keep his children in school. The 25,000 taka disability benefit could help him recover without turning to loan sharks. This is not about policy documents. It is about dignity and security.
Bangladesh already has the infrastructure to make this possible. According to Bangladesh Bank, there are over 235 million active Mobile Financial Service accounts: bKash, Nagad, Rocket, trusted and used by the very workers Shurokkha aims to protect. Instead of building new systems, Shurokkha leverages these platforms. A rickshaw driver could open his wallet app, see Shurokkha listed, and sign up in minutes. Premiums are deducted automatically, daily or monthly, without paperwork or agents.
Operating under Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority guidelines, Shurokkha partners with licensed insurers to underwrite policies while wallet providers handle distribution and premium collection. This model leverages existing regulatory frameworks while dramatically reducing distribution costs that have historically made micro-insurance unprofitable.
When an accident occurs, the process remains digital and transparent. Families upload documentation through their phones, and payouts go directly to their wallets, often within days. For households living hand-to-mouth, that speed can mean survival.
While some insurers offer group policies through employers or microfinance institutions, Shurokkha is designed specifically for individual workers in the informal economy who lack employer-sponsored coverage. This is the missing layer in Bangladesh's financial inclusion architecture: protection for those who need it most but have been consistently underserved.
Shurokkha targets those who keep our cities moving yet remain financially invisible: ready-made-garment workers, construction, transport and logistics workers, rickshaw and van drivers, street vendors, and day labourers. These are the most vulnerable populations identified by BRAC and microfinance research as facing catastrophic financial risk from accidents and health emergencies.
What makes Shurokkha different is that it aligns business incentives with social impact. For workers, ten taka a day buys peace of mind. For insurers, digital payments and low distribution costs make small premiums sustainable where traditional agent models fail. For wallet providers, insurance integration deepens user engagement and platform stickiness. For development partners and ESG investors, the model delivers measurable results: families protected, children kept in school, medical bankruptcies prevented.
For impact investors specifically, Shurokkha offers clear alignment with multiple Sustainable Development Goals: poverty reduction through financial resilience, decent work and economic growth through worker protection, and reduced inequality through inclusive insurance access. Impact metrics are built into the digital platform, tracking enrollment, claims, settlement speed, and family outcomes in real time. This is not charity. It is a sustainable business built on trust and measurable social returns.
Shurokkha is currently seeking partnerships with insurers, mobile wallet providers, and impact investors to pilot this model across Bangladesh's informal workforce. Early consultations with IDRA and leading MFS providers have validated both the regulatory pathway and technical feasibility. The infrastructure exists. The market need is undeniable. What remains is the institutional commitment to serve those who have built our economy while carrying all the risk themselves.
Bangladesh's informal workers have built our cities, stitched our exports, and moved our economy forward, often at great personal risk. Perhaps it is time we carried some of their risk in return. Shurokkha proves that protection need not be a privilege for the formal few but a right for the working many.
Ten taka a day, less than a cup of tea, can save a family from collapse, keep a child in school, and give millions of workers the safety they deserve. That is not just innovation. It is inclusion with empathy. It is time for Bangladesh to lead that story.
Md Mahmudul Hasan is a digital banking and fintech strategist focused on financial inclusion, literacy, and innovation. He can be reached at [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.