Vision Smart Bangladesh 2041 to offer business-related services

After accomplishing Vision Digital Bangladesh 2021, the government has announced a new campaign to implement their next plan to turn the country into Smart Bangladesh by 2041.

The Vision Digital Bangladesh had a government-to-citizen approach to ensure access to the internet for all and the new campaign will have a government-to-business approach to ensure digital services related to businesses services for all by 2041, said officials at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division.

Smart Bangladesh campaign will include services related to agriculture, small businesses, schooling, health insurance, access to digital skills and migration-related services, they said.

Anir Chowdhury, the policy adviser of the a2i Programme of the ICT Division and the Cabinet Division, said that during the implementation of the Vision Digital Bangladesh campaign, Tk 35,000 crore has been transacted digitally and it had some 70 lakh beneficiaries every month across the country.

Vision Digital Bangladesh earned the country – bottom-up development, public-private partnership and empowerment of local government and the people, he added.

Vision Smart Bangladesh will focus on five features – network expansion, including new services, G2B approach, replicating the best practices of digital centres and replicating the model of digital centres in other countries, he said.

Anir said government-to-business services did not get much focus previously but now they will. The cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise sectors will get focus and the 7.9 million CMSME entrepreneurs would get several services including market access, access to finance through Binimoy (Interoperable Digital Transaction Platform - IDTP), lending credit and savings to small entrepreneurs, establishing credit bureau if possible and access to government services.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak would inaugurate Binimoy soon.

Anir said they are now working with the commerce ministry so that small and medium entrepreneurs get digital business IDs soon. They are also working with SME Foundation in this regard.

He said the Upazila Digital Centres would work as the CMSME Hub and the services have already been initiated in 50 upazilas. He expected all the upazilas would come under the service in two years.

NM Zeaul Alam, senior secretary of the ICT Division, said that people from remote areas are getting involved with the service that made union digital centres successful.

He said in the Smart Bangladesh campaign, no one would be allowed to remain out of network, all have to remain connected.

While inaugurating the campaign, ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “Through Vision Digital Bangladesh 2021, we have taken the digital services at the doorsteps of the people and now we want to make it available in everyone’s hand.”

Smart Bangladesh task force formed

On October 19, the Cabinet Division a gazette notification announced the formation of a 23-member Smart Bangladesh Taskforce headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The senior secretary of the ICT Division is the member secretary of the task force.

The task force will take all the measures to implement the theme of the vision – Smart Citizen, Smart Society, Smart Economy, and Smart Government. And for this, the task force would take small, mid and long-term plans and will take necessary measures.

The task force is allowed to increase its members if needed and meetings would be held when necessary.