Home ›› 03 Aug 2021 ›› Corporate
A journey of more than 25 years set out by four students of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Spectrum Engineering Consortium Limited is one of the leading IT system integrators in Bangladesh.
“We started our business with very little capital of around sixty-thousand taka at hand. I took the amount from my mother and brother in loan to begin this startup. That was our very first capital. Being fresh graduates from engineering universities, it was not easy for us to mobilise a large capital,” said Mushfiqur Rahman, managerial partner of Spectrum Engineering Consortium Limited.
Now the company is one of the leading system integration companies in Bangladesh serving more than 800 clients, consisting of more than 250 skilled resources.
Mushfiqur Rahman, who aspires to turn Bangladesh into a digitally solvent country, shared his thought with The Business Post.
The Business Post: Could you please tell us about your services and products?
Mushfiqur Rahman: We set up networking infrastructure, data center, cloud infrastructure and supply cybersecurity solutions. We have implemented a real-time gross settlement system, customer relationship management systems, enterprise asset and risk management systems etc. In the software sector, we have developed smart city applications, e-government applications, billing and agent banking solutions, government resource planning systems etc. Recently, we have been working on robotics as well.
Our products and services are being used at various government and non-government organisations. We are always committed to ensuring reliable and smooth operations and IT security for data centres and network infrastructures services.
TBP: Who inspired you to be an IT and software businessman?
Mushfiqur: We began our IT business back in the mid-1990s. Tech businesses around the world started booming during that period with tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Apple expanding their computer device business worldwide.
Bill Gates, the then CEO of Microsoft Corporation, became the role model to start a business in the IT and software sector. He was one of the earliest tech CEOs during the mid-1990s to recognise the vast promise of the internet to reach the goal of taking personal computers to every home around the globe. As a fresh university graduate, I was then motivated to do something in this sector.
TBP: What are the problems and possibilities of the software industry in Bangladesh?
Mushfiqur: Bangladesh is currently in a transition phase from being a ‘Least Developed Country’ into a ‘Developing Country’. The IT and software industry has not matured in our country. We can consider this both as a problem and as an immense opportunity to grow in this sector.
Only 20 per cent of local market and enterprise businesses in our country are automated to some extent. The rest of the businesses still rely on a fully-manual process, starting from bookkeeping to the production of goods.
Due to lengthy approval processes, government takes a huge time to cut through red tape while adopting newer business processes, re-engineering and technology.
The new businesses and startups do not have proper maturity due to a lack of proper guidance and opportunities. There are problems with funding as well. We are lagging in developing venture capital funds. Traditional banks are generally unwilling to fund the new startups.
Now on the business possibilities and opportunities, there is a huge demand for the software industry both in the public and private sector.
TBP: What is your advice for the new bunch of aficionados who are interested in becoming IT entrepreneurs?
Mushfiqur: As a veteran in the IT and software sectors for more than a quarter century, my sincere advice for the new generation enthusiasts is to convert their passion and skill to marketable business opportunities.
It is not always feasible and profitable to follow other successful people’s footprint. They have to find their niche and expertise and decide which business idea would suit their skill and passion. And more importantly, they have to shine light on going global but acting local to keep pace with the fast-growing tech industry around the world.
TBP: What is the state of the country’s overall software industry and where do you see it after a decade?
Mushfiqur: The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in Bangladesh is considered as one of the 32 ‘thrust sectors’ for its huge potential for growth and new job creations. This industry is still relatively small compared to the size of our population and our national economy. There has been a substantial amount of investment in this industry of more than Tk 44,000 crore in the software, IT-enabled services and digital devices sector in the last 5 years. Our ICT ministry has projected a revenue target of more than Tk 5 billion by 2025 from this sector. We have more than 4500 registered ICT firms and 28 hi-tech parks with employment opportunities of 1.5 lakh skilled engineers and resources. In 2018-2019, the revenue from the ICT sector is $ 1000 million with an astounding growth rate of 66 per cent.
TBP: Where do you want to take your company after a decade?
Mushfiqur: Our mission statement is ‘Enhance Your Technology Integration Possibilities with Us’ and this means we optimise service efficiency, improve operational capacity and offer innovative technologies to our clients and partners. In 10 years, we want to be one of the well-recognised IT solution companies in South Asia.
