NGO Affairs Bureau

What NGO Affairs Bureau does

The NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) is the statutory regulatory body of the Government of Bangladesh, established in 1990 and placed under the Prime Minister's Office in 1991, charged with providing one-stop regulatory services to non-governmental organizations operating with foreign assistance. It administers the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Ordinance 1978 and its successor Act (Act No. 43 of 2016), with a further amendment enacted in 2026 (Law No. 54 of 2026) accompanied by new implementing regulations in 2026. Its core services include NGO registration and renewal, project proposal approval via FD-6 forms, 24-hour emergency relief approval via FD-7, one-time foreign contribution processing via FC-1, foreign national work permits, listed audit firm maintenance, grievance redress, and right-to-information disclosure. The Bureau also enforces Anti-Money Laundering Act 2012 compliance with respect to NGO-channelized funds and realizes government revenue through taxes and registration fees arising from NGO activity.

The Bureau's technology footprint is a conventional e-governance stack: an official website (ngoab.gov.bd), an online service portal (e-service.ngoab.gov.bd) for registration, renewal, and project submission, a Zimbra-based webmail system, and a network of district-level NGO web portals spanning 32 districts. It has no public or partner-facing API, no mobile application, and no documented AI/ML capability. Field-level monitoring is delegated to Deputy Commissioners and Upazila Nirbahi Officers rather than staffed through branch offices. The Bureau is led by a Director General (Secretary-level) with three Directors covering Registration & Audit, Project-1, and Project-2, supported by Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, Assignment Officers, and administrative staff — 52 named officers and staff are listed on the official website.

The Bureau operates under a non-commercial model: it does not charge fees for its regulatory services and has no disclosed revenue, operating budget, or commercial pricing. Its "customers" in the regulatory sense comprise the full population of foreign and domestic NGOs registered in Bangladesh — including named entities such as MSF Holland and Missionaries of Charity — together with development partners such as UNDP Bangladesh, which it engaged in June 2026 on a financial transparency and audit quality initiative. Its primary counterparties are foreign NGOs receiving foreign donations, domestic NGOs, line ministries, and district administrations.

Name

NGO Affairs Bureau

Legal name

NGO Affairs Bureau

Website

https://ngoab.gov.bd

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The NGO Affairs Bureau is a Bangladesh government regulatory body under the Prime Minister's Office that registers, licenses, and oversees NGOs receiving foreign donations, processing project approvals, work permits, and audit compliance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Regulatory Services

NAICS

International Affairs (92812), National Security and International Affairs (928)

SIC

Foreign Governments (8888), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration (BPAIAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Donor Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation (MEL) Programs (BPADABAN)

Keywords

• NGO regulatory services
• Foreign donations regulation
• NGO registration processing
• Government e-governance
• Project approval compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Dhaka

HQ country

Bangladesh

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NGO Affairs Bureau operates as a government regulatory body providing one-stop services to NGOs operating with foreign assistance in Bangladesh. The bureau processes NGO registration and renewal applications, approves project proposals (FD-6 form), provides 24-hour emergency relief project approvals (FD-7 form), processes foreign worker permits, manages foreign contributions (FC-1), and publishes foreign donation statistics and audit firm listings.

Product overview

NGO Affairs Bureau operates as a regulatory body under the Prime Minister's Office, providing one-stop services for NGOs operating with foreign assistance. The organization offers a portfolio of services including NGO registration and renewal processing, project proposal approvals (FD-6), emergency relief project approvals (FD-7), foreign worker permit processing, audit firm listing, grievance redress system, right to information services, and foreign donation statistics. The bureau conducts monthly coordination meetings with Deputy Commissioners and maintains oversight through district-level NGO portals. Services are delivered through both physical offices and an online e-service portal (e-service.ngoab.gov.bd), with supporting infrastructure including webmail (Zimbra), document management forms (FD-1, FD-2, FD-6), and accessibility tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NGO Registration and Renewal Services Processing of NGO registration applications, renewals, and maintenance of NGO records including domestic and foreign NGO listings for NGOs operating with foreign assistance in Bangladesh.
• Project Proposal Approval (FD-6) Approval of NGO project proposals submitted via FD-6 forms, including project rationale, objectives, target groups, year-wise activities, foreign funding sources, and donor details.
• Foreign Worker Permit Processing Processing of work permit applications for foreign nationals employed by registered NGOs operating in Bangladesh.
• Foreign Donation Statistics Collection and publication of statistics on foreign donations received by NGOs, including sector-wise fund disbursement data.
• Audit Firm Listing Maintenance and publication of listed audit firms authorized to conduct NGO audits under the Foreign Donations Regulation Act.
• Grievance Redress System (GRS) System for receiving and addressing complaints and grievances related to NGO activities.
• Right to Information (RTI) Services Information disclosure services under the RTI Act, including application forms and quarterly reports for public access to bureau information.
• Emergency Relief Project Approval (FD-7) 24-hour approval process for emergency relief project proposals during natural disasters like floods or cyclones, primarily for distribution of relief materials.
• One-time Foreign Contribution (FC-1) Processing of one-time foreign contribution applications, mainly for faith-based NGOs receiving seasonal contributions like Ramadan iftar or Eid gifts.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UNDP BangladeshcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026UNDP Bangladesh collaborated with NGO Affairs Bureau and Prime Minister's Office in a joint initiative to improve financial transparency, accountability, and audit quality in the NGO sector. The partnership involved consultation meetings with listed audit firms to enhance audit standards and compliance.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• UNDP Bangladesh: Named partner of NGOAB on transparency and audit quality initiatives. Relevant as a strategic counterpart/development partner rather than a competitor; provides donor-side perspective on NGO sector reform.
• UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) — NGO Branch: UN body managing consultative status and formal relations with NGOs globally. Comparable as an upstream/overlapping entity that interfaces with national NGO regulators and shapes the international NGO operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• Charity Commission for England and Wales: The UK regulator of charities and non-profit organizations — analogous in function (registration, compliance, public disclosure) though operating in a more mature legal environment. Provides a benchmark for what scaled regulatory infrastructure looks like.
• Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC): Australia's national regulator of charities, with digital-first registration, transparency, and reporting tools. Comparable as a more digitally mature peer that NGOAB could benchmark against for e-service portal modernization.

Direct peers

• FCRA Wing, Ministry of Home Affairs (India): India's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) division under the Ministry of Home Affairs regulates NGOs receiving foreign donations — directly comparable to NGOAB's oversight of foreign-funded NGOs under the Foreign Donations Regulation Act. Both are government regulators with exclusive jurisdiction over foreign contribution registration, project approval, and compliance.
• Social Welfare Council (Nepal): Nepal's apex body for regulating I/NGOs, responsible for registration, project approval, and monitoring of foreign-funded organizations. Direct structural analog to NGOAB in a neighboring South Asian jurisdiction with similar foreign-donation regulatory framework.
• NGO Coordination Board (Kenya): Kenya's statutory body for registration, regulation, and coordination of NGOs, operating under an NGO Coordination Act. Comparable to NGOAB in its single-window mandate for NGO registration, compliance oversight, and government-led coordination of the civil society sector.

Regional players

• Economic Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan: Pakistan's central coordinating body for foreign economic assistance and NGO/international organization engagement. Comparable as a regional government entity entrusted with foreign aid coordination and INGOs oversight.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ngo-affairs-bureau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NGO Affairs Bureau