The state of BD automation, 2026
Citable numbers. Open methodology. Updated quarterly.
of BD SMEs run primary customer comms on WhatsApp
Assistant survey, n=412 SMEs, April 2026
average monthly cost of manual data entry per SME
Assistant survey + hourly labor estimates
time founders spend on repetitive ops tasks
Assistant time-diary study, n=84 founders
of BD SMEs use any automation tool today
Assistant survey, April 2026
estimated BD automation+SaaS market by 2028
Internal modeling (LightCastle + BBS base)
revenue growth among SMEs that automated 3+ workflows
Assistant 90-day cohort study, n=27 partners
Methodology
Survey conducted April 2026 across Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet. 412 SME respondents (revenue ৳10L–৳5Cr/yr). Time-diary subset: 84 founders self-reported task time over 14 days. Market sizing uses BBS SME counts and a 5% TAM realization assumption against LightCastle's digital-economy CAGR. Full dataset available on request: research@assistant.bd