December 15, 2019 : As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, Bangladesh has outperformed most of its South Asian neighbors in adopting Information and Communications Technology (ICT). With technology considered the bedrock of progress, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led government has been working towards toensure efficient workflow and enhance the overall ease of doing business.
The focus is now more on the digital economy for catering to the global market for the outsourcing jobs. In an attempt to keep a check on the costs and risks, many large corporations based in the developed nations like the US, UK and Australia are turning towards IT outsourcing from countries including Bangladesh, creating a boom in freelancing and thus a strong online workforce.
At present, the country offers a plethora of options toinvestors and big firms based out of the developed nations. This includes talented workforce, flexible working hours, etc., which in turn, is well complemented by the recent government initiatives, aimed at boosting the economic growth. From recent spur in the number of optic fiber network in the urban areas to establishment of One Stop Service Center, Socio-Economic Zones— such initiatives have contributed to the recent growth of this way of working.
As a result, Bangladesh has already become the second-largest supplier of online labor, according to the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). That said, in spite of the rising aspirations and educational qualifications, people are not able to find suitable positions in the job market each year. With the rate of educated unemployment in the country increasing exponentially, IT training and freelancing works online have turned out to be a good option.
With an emphasis on long term plans, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaand her advisers like Salman F Rahman, Mashiur Rahman, have been making significant efforts in ensuring that the country transforms into a digital economy by 2021. Government initiatives to develop the ICT service sector, such as creating a high-tech park in every district coupled with the low-cost workforce, have made Bangladesh a key player in the global outsourcing market.
The South Asian nation continues its transformation towards digital economy, which now also has been extended to the education sector, to get the students well-equipped with the changing technological reforms.
One such event was recently held at North South University in Bashundhara, where Salman F Rahman, the Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister,wasinvited as the chief guest. The event held competitions such as app designing, robotics, and gaming for computer and engineering students at the university level.
That said, a few challenges such as uninterrupted power supply hinders the growth of this industry in Bangladesh. In spite of growing broadband connections, freelancers often find it too slow to suit their work. Lack of easy payment system is another major problem which stops the country to thrive in the competitive global market.
However, recent initiatives by the private establishments to create a solid position of the digital financial service in the country seems to find certain ground with the launch of payment apps such as Dmoney andiPay.
Additionally, the government’s push to promote the ICT sector through incentivization has clearly been regarded as a step in the right direction. Salman F Rahman, who is also one of the most successful Bangladeshi Businessmen, during a recent inaugural session of the two-day 33rd CACCI Conference at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, emphasized on different development activities of the government, including the advantages of setting up industries and making investments in different regions of the country.
Such positive measures from the government complement the goal of turning the vision of Digital Bangladesh into reality by focusing on human capital development for the global digital economy.
Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)
