Funded by the World Bank Group and implemented by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Export Readiness Fund (ERF) is a component of the Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) Project. The ERF is a US$10 million matching-grant programme which provides financial support to eligible Bangladeshi firms to identify gaps, catalyse investment and improve Environmental, Social and Quality (ESQ) standards, and, thus, improve competitiveness on the export markets. Grant support is provided for advisory services, training, and equipment that enables eligible firms to identify and address ESQ compliance gaps and upgrade their factories, improve production processes and enhance product quality, as required by international buyers/brands and the regulatory standards of the major export markets. The target export industries for the ERF, which are Government priorities for diversifying Bangladesh’s export basket, are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the leather and leather goods, footwear (leather and non-leather), plastics, and light engineering (covering electronics and electrical goods, automobiles (including motorbikes) and parts, bicycles, accumulators and batteries) sectors, respectively. The ERF was launched on 5 January 2020 and and is in operation until June 2023.