Home ›› 16 Feb 2022 ›› Editorial
It is a welcome development that the government is working wholeheartedly towards building Bangladesh as modern technology and knowledge-based nation. Incorporating technology is not a luxury but a necessity to create a sustainable economy in the contemporary world. The concept of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ can turn the country into a major hub of ICT-led export industries. With improving infrastructure, Bangladesh is becoming a significant software exporter. IT companies in Bangladesh started exporting software around two decades ago, joining the business process outsourcing (BPO) bandwagon in the 1990s. Since then, many of them have diversified into exporting computer programmes.
According to an agency report carried in this newspaper on Tuesday the Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said that Bangladesh’s export earnings in the information technology sector have exceeded $1.3 billion. On an even more positive note, the minister added, “the government is working to raise the earnings to $5 billion by 2025.” The government is making a roadmap to facilitate the production of digital devices in the country to boost export earnings in the information and technology sector to reach the target stated by Zunaid Ahmed Palak. At the same time, the domestic market for ICT products and IT-enabled services is also expected to reach $5 billion. According to the ICT Division, mobile devices, computers, and laptops will play a major role in tapping in the prospective $10 billion IT market at home and abroad within the next four years. That is why the roadmap is aimed at capacity building of the local digital device manufacturing industry as well as promoting and branding domestically manufactured products in international markets.
According to experts, Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in four key ICT areas-rapid digital connectivity and infrastructure, comprehensive implementation of e-governance concept, facilitating industry promotion and developing skilled and quality human resources. We have already seen the benefits of the current government’s Digital Bangladesh initiative, but many organizations are yet to utilise technology to the extent they should have. To fully capitalise on the opportunities offered by the worldwide IT expansion, Bangladesh should thrust heavily towards further developing the IT sector to draw the attention of foreign investors competing with other technologically advanced/well-invested Asian countries. At the same time, we should encourage our entrepreneurs to launch IT companies here.
Computer services export from Bangladesh is rising in sync with global demand for data processing, hosting, and consultancy services. Many people are working from home while companies are outsourcing amidst the lingering coronavirus pandemic.
Emerging Asian economies like India, China, Malaysia, etc. have opted for digitisation to exploit opportunities offered by the Digital Age and catch up with technologically advanced countries. These countries have invested heavily in IT sectors, reaping considerable benefits in higher employment/income, and accelerating growth. However, the future looks bright. Bangladesh in all likelihood is likely to become an upcoming hotspot for ICT outsourcing, where its speed to reach that position depends on its ability to develop its talent capital and infrastructure to compete in the global platform.
Public investment in basic infrastructure and the ready-made garment industry have been the main driving forces behind the country’s recent economic success, but the government is now committed to making the ICT industry as a new engine of growth.
Bangladesh is in urgent need to diversify its export basket. The country is losing its competitive edge in global trade because of an overdependence on a single product. And the tech sector has enormous potential in this regard. Bangladesh, one of the rare economies to keep expanding in a world hit by recession, is set to jettison its least developed country status by 2024 — a classification that currently makes it eligible for trade deals that grant duty-free, quota-free access for many export items. Exiting the LDC category won’t immediately alter the favourable terms of trade, but the economy could face hurdles when trying to forge new trade agreements going ahead, possibly hurting readymade clothing exports–the biggest foreign currency earner for the country. To reduce such risks, the authorities need to encourage exports of products that have high export potential.
