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Bangladesh Economic & Infrastructure Development - Updates & Discussions

Sheer Elegance
by ICE TODAY
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In the Residential sphere, Shanta develops Apartment buildings as well as larger-scale Condominium projects. Their Residential projects are built with the highest quality construction and finishing materials sourced locally and globally. Based on the size of the projects, they incorporate modern lifestyle amenities such as fully equipped gyms, swimming pools, steam/sauna facilities, children’s play areas, billiard rooms, management offices, fully furnished community/party rooms, complemented with professional interior design, landscaping, and lighting. The company always strives for innovation; for instance, they are proud to be the introducer of parking-free ground floor designs in Residential buildings in Bangladesh.

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They believe the entry to your home should be full of natural elements such as professional landscaping, water features, green lawns etc in order to create a welcoming experience. Attention to detail in every aspect of each project is how they aim to win the hearts of our clients, because at the end of the day – home is where the heart is.
*Photographs by Shanta
 
OK now a story about automobile production. There are pilot assembly projects all around Bangladesh, Don't laugh at the limited numbers, these are just trial runs.

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12:00 AM, May 07, 2021 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:01 AM, May 08, 2021
“Made in Bangladesh” cars: how far are we?


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Rahbar Al Haq

The personal ownership of a car in Bangladesh has always been an expensive prospect. High import taxes, combined with the lack of an indigenous auto industry in Bangladesh, mean prospective buyers have to pay to double over a car's original price, sometimes even more.

However, with the massive 1,106% increase in car ownership (from 303,215 units to 4,471,625 units) in the past 15 years, combined with rapid industrialisation, local production of cars has become very close to reality.

Some companies have already begun locally assembling cars for foreign brands, while others are planning for future joint production. With this in mind, we have put together a summary of all these companies and their achievements to date.

For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

For this article, we are excluding the development of commercial and motorcycle assembly in Bangladesh, as those topics are best covered with their own separate dedicated reports.

Pragati Industries Limited | Multiple brands

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Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. Pragati assembles the "QX" variant of this car.

Pragati's history of local car assembly goes back before our country's independence, when —Back then it was known as Gandhara Industries— in the 60's it entered into an agreement with General Motor's European division to put together the Vauxhall Viva sedan.

In more recent times, the Japanese automotive giant Mitsubishi has entered a five-year agreement with Pragati around 2010 to locally assemble the second generation Pajero Sport SUV. Both companies maintain this agreement to this day, with assembly switching to the new third-generation QX model.

In recent years, the State-run enterprise reportedly also began working closely with Mitsubishi to make their brand of motor vehicles. In a report published on The Daily Star last year, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said that Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki had told him "He [Ito Naoki] also said that Japan would provide technical assistance for the production of Bangladesh's own brand of motor vehicles. He further offered to assist Bangladesh in developing the vendor industry related to automobile and light engineering industries and setting up an Automobile Testing & Research Institute in Bangladesh."

Mahindra Scorpio. Pragati assembled 36 of such units in 2017. (trial run)
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Other than Mitsubishi, Pragati also assembled 36 Mahindra Scorpio SUVs in 2017. The enterprise also offers the Foton SUV and various other commercial vehicles.

Rangs Limited | Mitsubishi Motors

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Mitsubishi Outlander. Rancon Auto Industries Limited (RAIL) plant at Bhabanipur, Kashimpur, Gazipur assembled 200 of such vehicles.

Although Pragati has been putting together cars with the three-diamond badge for a while, most of their output ended up in the government fleet. The cars that do end up on the consumer market, are sold by Rangs Limited, a concern of Rangs Group.

The local industrial giant has been putting together the cars on their own as well, assembling the Mitsubishi Outlander SUV at their Kashimpur, Gazipur plant for well over three years, with more than 200 units being successfully completed.

Currently, the plant can assemble 4 units per day with Shoeb Ahmed, divisional director of Rangs Limited, informed daily star in February that for 2021 they hope to assemble 200 SUVs in a single year.

Read More
PHP Motors | Proton Holdings Berhad

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2018 Proton Preve. One of the first models assembled by PHP Motors.

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A view of the assembling plant of PHP Automobiles in Chattogram.

PHP Motors, a sister concern of the PHP Family based in Chattogram, has been putting together Malaysia's Proton car as early as 2017. Their facility at Sagarika in Chattogram is capable of the annual production of 1,200 units a year and currently employs about 265 workers to assemble 10-12 vehicles per shift. PHP started with the assembly of the Proton Preve, a decently equipped family sedan, but also began assembling the 2021 Proton Saga, according to PHP Automobile chairman Sufi Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.

Akhtar Parvez, managing director of the company, told The Daily Star last February that PHP currently locally produces 25 of the 800 parts required to build a car. He hopes they will be able to manufacture most of the important parts in their factory by next year.

Upcoming projects

Fair Technology Limited | Hyundai Motor Company

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Hyundai Elantra. One of the models currently offered by Fair Technology Limited.

Fair Technology Limited's entry into the Bangladesh auto industry has been recent, but it has already made significant headway toward setting up local production. Being the new sole distributor of Hyundai cars in Bangladesh, the company signed a contract in January with Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) to establish an assembly plant at Kaliakair, Gazipur.

Mohammed Mesbah Uddin, Chief Marketing Officer of the Fair group, told the Daily star last February that they plan to invest $125 million in the next three to five years to set up a plant capable of producing 5,000 vehicles a year.

Fair Technology, which has also been manufacturing Samsung smartphones since 2019, hopes to begin production as soon as 2022 and claims the locally assembled cars are likely to be 25 per cent lower than prevailing market rates.

Uttara Motors Limited | Maruti Suzuki

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Suzuki Vitara Brezza. One of the models currently offered by Uttara Motors Limited.

Another dealership that has switched its focus on local car assembly is Uttara Motors Ltd. They are investing $33.63 million to build a local assembly and manufacturing plant for Maruti Suzuki cars in Bangladesh. The company signed a lease for a 50-acre plot at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram, last march.

Matiur Rahman, Uttara Motors Chairman and Managing Director, said the high-quality plant will generate employment for 800 people.

Read More

Stalled prospects

Although the companies mentioned above are already producing or soon to start production, many other local automotive ventures had their venture abruptly halted because of the ongoing pandemic.

Bangladesh Auto Industries Ltd. (BAIL), was planning to establish an electric vehicle factory on Bangabandhu Industrial Park. With an initial investment of $200 million that would total to $1 billion within the next five years, the company planned to manufacture from two-wheelers to sedans, SUVs, pick-ups, mini-trucks, and multipurpose vehicles.

Unfortunately, the pandemic slowed down BAIL's plans considerably, with all plans being moved back a year. In an interview with The Daily Star Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of BAIL, said "We missed the target as the suppliers could not ship the required equipment on time even though we opened letters of credit earlier on," said Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of BAIL. "We were on track before the Covid-19 crisis hit but the prevailing situation has not been favourable for us. Regardless, we are maintaining correspondence with our foreign partners via digital platforms to keep the project alive," he added.

Nitol Motor's Suvare electric cars project also suffered similar delays because of the Coivd-19. The company has finished the construction of the assembly plant building on 10 acres of land in Pabna, but are unable to import the machinery required to build the car themselves.

"As per new target, we will bring the EV within next two and a half years," informed Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of Nitol-Niloy Group.

Asked about the car, he said the locally designed 25-Kwh battery-electric car would have the size and feel of regular sedans and will cost about Tk 10 lakh to Tk 12 lakh.

In more recent times Bangla cars, a sister concern of the Hossain group, entered talks with Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motors to start local vehicle production under their own marque. Because of covid complication, however, the plans have been put on hold and the company is assembling DFSK car in their assembly plant at Narayanganj as an interim solution.

Md Abdus Sattar, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Bangla cars, informed The Daily Star that the plant is now fully operational, having successfully assembled 6 new DFSK "Glory" crossovers. The company plans to officially inaugurate the assembly plant after Eid, or whenever the lockdown eases.

Here is DFSK Bangladesh website,


This are the initially offered models

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Here is a similar piece on Motorcycles made in Bangladesh, which has much deeper backward integration (local parts manufacturing support). Sometimes parts are sourced from local third parties, but mostly made in house. The story below is in part a precursor to the story above, but discusses motorcycles as well.
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12:00 AM, February 13, 2021 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:35 AM, February 13, 2021
A brief look at the auto industry in Bangladesh


Photo: Akif Hamid
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Photo: Akif Hamid

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Rahbar Al Haq

The rapid growth of our economy and people's purchasing power has seen a rise in demand for personal transport. People are buying more cars and motorcycles than ever before, being able to pay their way through the duty inflated prices. To support this higher demand, more and more transport manufacturers have set up or setting up plants for local production. We have analysed both industries to see their current state and what the future holds for them.

Starting with four wheels, the car market in Bangladesh is small compared to many of our neighboring countries. Bangladesh's automobile density -- the number of vehicles per unit length of the roadway -- is as low as 0.5 percent, compared to the global average of 12 percent. Data from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) shows that there are a total of 4,471,625 registered vehicles in the country, of which only 370,519 are registered as 'Private Passenger Car' followed by 105,896 'Microbus' and 66,219 'Jeeps'.

For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

On the other hand, the number of registered motorised vehicles has observed a fourfold increase in just 15 years, as it was only 303,215 units in 2003. People have been buying more cars than ever before, which presents a large opportunity for the local auto industry.

According to a report in this newspaper, the country has 12 million people in the medium-income generating affluent bracket and this segment of the population is growing very fast -- by 10 percent a year. Many of these consumers are not getting their desired vehicles because of high import duties, ranging from 130 per cent to 850 per cent.

To circumvent this issue, many companies are setting up or have set up local facilities.

Fair Technology Limited, the sole distributor of Hyundai cars in Bangladesh, is the most recent car company to make moves toward local production. The company signed a contract with Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) to establish an assembly plant on six acres of land. The company plans to invest $125 million in the next three to five years to set up a plant capable of churning out 5,000 vehicles a year. The company plans to begin production as soon as 2022 and claims the locally assembled cars are likely to be 25 percent lower than prevailing market rates.

PHP Motors, a sister concern of the PHP Family based in Chattogram, already manufactures cars made by Malaysia's Proton. Proton Preve, a decently equipped family sedan, has been locally put together for almost half a decade. The company also began assembling the 2021 Proton Saga, according to PHP Automobile chairman Sufi Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.

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Photo: Akif Hamid

In terms of full production, the state-run Pragati Industries is working closely with Japanese automotive giant Mitsubishi Corporation to make Bangladesh's own brand of motor vehicles. Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said in 2020 that Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki had told him "(They) are interested in increasing investments in Bangladesh". Currently, Pragati assembles cars designed by Mitsubishi Motors.

Moving from internal combustion engines to battery electric vehicles, BEV, the local automobile company Bangladesh Auto Industries Ltd. (BAIL), is building a BEV plant on Bangabandhu Industrial Park. The company planned to invest $200 million with total investment for the project reaching $1 billion within the next five years. They planned to "manufacture two-wheelers, three-wheelers, sedan, hatchback, and sport utility vehicle, SUV, and had plans to produce pick-ups, mini-trucks, and multipurpose vehicles," a report in 2019 claimed. Unfortunately, the pandemic slowed down BAIL's plans considerably, with all plans being moved back a year. "We missed the target as the suppliers could not ship the required equipment on time even though we opened letters of credit earlier on," Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of BAIL, told The Daily Star.

"We were on track before the Covid-19 crisis hit but the prevailing situation has not been favorable for us. Regardless, we are maintaining correspondence with our foreign partners via digital platforms to keep the project alive," he added.

The introduction of BAIL's BEVs will provide a major boost to the local auto scenario, especially if the company manages to meet its ambitious price point. BAIL went on public saying their SUV will sell at around Tk 25 lakh while sedans will be priced between Tk 12 lakh to Tk 15 lakh. Hatchbacks will go for Tk 8 lakh or less. Meanwhile, the price of motorcycles will range from Tk 50,000 to Tk 1.5 lakh. Whether the company will be able to fulfill this claim, remains to be seen.

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Photo: Akif Hamid

Another local BEV venture that has been stalled by the lockdown is Nitol Motor's Suvare electric cars. The locally designed 25-Kwh battery-electric car will have the size and feel of regular sedans and will cost about Tk 10 lakh to Tk 12 lakh, according to Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of Nitol-Niloy Group.

The company has already finished the construction of the assembly plant building on 10 acres of land in Pabna. The plant, currently awaiting installation of machinery, will be able to annually produce 20,000 EVs. The total set-up of the plant is estimated to be Tk 350 crore.

Asked about the delay, Matlub Ahmad said, "As per new target, we will bring the EV within next two and a half years."

When it comes to two-wheelers, there have been much more extensive developments.
The number of motorcycle users in Bangladesh has grown rapidly in the past few years. According to BRTA. the number of registered motorcycles increased about four times in the last decade, from 759,257 in 2010 to 2,991,612 in 2020. A report from the Daily Star in June last year showed around 5 lakh motorcycles were sold in FY 2018-19, up 25 per cent from 4 lakh a year ago. It means nearly 1,500 motorcycles are being purchased every day.

Subrata Ranjan Das, executive director of ACI Motors, reported in an interview in 2019 that the highest growth took place in the 150cc segment, followed by 110cc ones. Among the general growth, there also has been a sharp increase in the consumer demand for premium motorcycles. In an industry analysis conducted by Safat Ishtiaq, Head of Operations, Asian Motorbikes Limited, it was observed a strong demand for "Complete Built-Up" (CBU) motorcycles, such as their Ninja 125 along with Honda CBR and Yamaha R15v2. Around 300 of such high-priced motorcycles are sold every year, the analysis claims.
To support this rapid demand, the local motorcycle industry has snowballed, which has received 8,000 cr investment so far. Currently, the sector employs around 200,000 people in direct and indirect jobs and pays Tk 2,000 cr in duties every year.

In another report published in the Daily Star in July 2019, around 80 percent of motorcycles running in the country have either been locally manufactured or assembled. Bangladesh Honda (Private) Ltd has recently celebrated their 200,000 unit's cumulative production milestone. On the other hand, local motorcycle company Runner reported the production of 1,000 motorcycles a day in 2019. The company also debuted in exporting two-wheelers in 2017 to Nepal and Bhutan and shipped more than 700 units of bikes in 2019, followed by another 300 in 2020.

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Photo: Rahin Shadman Islam

However, with these massive growths, there have been some setbacks. The displacement limit enforced by the government, which limits motorcycle engine capacity to 165cc, has caused trouble both for local export and growth of foreign industry investments. In terms of local growth,

Amid Sakif Khan, Director at Runner Group of Companies, informed Daily Star the company ran into a problem trying to ensure the Q&C of these high displacement motorcycles. Because of the local cc restriction, Runner was unable to road test any of the bikes before sending them aboard. As a result, the numerous production flaws plagued those models, hurting both Runner's reputation and sales.

When it comes to foreign investments, Kawasaki approached Bangladesh's Ministry of Commerce in December 2019 about setting up a local production facility. However, to make the venture profitable, they requested the displacement limit be raised to at least 250, as the company primarily specializes in making premium motorcycles of 250cc and up. The proposal fell on deaf ears and joined the list of lost opportunities for the local motorcycle industry.

As it is, the displacement cap remains a major thorn in the side of the local motorcycle industry, but with recent talks of raising the limit, many have been hopeful. Doing so will greatly increase the opportunity for foreign investments and will open the market to bigger opportunities.
 
Design of Dhaka Metro Rail Line 6 viaduct and stations


Padma River and Padma Bridge Cinematic View
 
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ANDRITZ Successfully Starts up Turnkey Tissue Production Line at Bashundhara Paper Mills
International technology Group ANDRITZ has successfully started up the PrimeLineCOMPACT VI tissue production line – including stock preparation and automation system – delivered to Bashundhara Paper Mills Limited in Bangladesh.
Successful start-up of the ANDRITZ PrimeLineCOMPACT VI tissue production line at Bashundhara Paper Mills Limited in Bangladesh. -Credit: ANDRITZ-
Successful start-up of the ANDRITZ PrimeLineCOMPACT VI tissue production line at Bashundhara Paper Mills Limited in Bangladesh. -Credit: ANDRITZ-

The ANDRITZ tissue machine – with a design speed of 2,100 m/min and a paper width of 2.85 m – produces tissue for high-quality facial wipes, toilet paper, and napkins. The 16 ft. PrimeDry Steel Yankee is made entirely of steel, thus enabling high and efficient drying performance, and was manufactured at the ANDRITZ Steel Yankee Business Center in Foshan, China, which offers customers in Asia state-of-the-art manufacturing, local field service, and comprehensive quality management. For ANDRITZ, it is the first high-speed tissue machine to be installed in Bangladesh.

The tissue production line is equipped with the ANDRITZ PrimeControl automation system for a high-performance production process. For the very first time, ANDRITZ has supplied a multi-motor drive (MMD) system with active line modules (ALM). The ALMs are designed for feeding energy back into the grid as a renewable energy solution, they offer low line harmonics that meet the demands of IEEE 519, and they enable stable operation of the motor, even with irregular power supply systems. All the tissue machine MMDs are powered from a common DC-busbar as are the approach flow and the air ventilation systems at times. The ANDRITZ LV motors are installed from fiber preparation to the tissue machine auxiliary system.

The scope of supply also included the complete stock preparation plant with approach flow system, fiber recovery and broke handling. The system features the ANDRITZ ShortFlow concept, an overall and compact process design that significantly reduces the number of single machines and storage volumes. Market bales are dissolved in a FibreSolve FSV pulper, which enables efficient slushing without damaging the fibers. TwinFlo refiners ensure balanced and efficient operation as well as superior fiber properties. Fiber recovery is mainly handled by a RotoWash, which achieves low solids content in the effluent water. Two further pulpers from the FibreSolve product family are part of the broke system.

The successful start-up confirms ANDRITZ’s strong position as one of the global market leaders for supply of complete tissue production lines, key components, and services.

ANDRITZ GROUP
ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metal working and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial segments. Other important fields of business are animal feed and biomass pelleting, as well as automation, where ANDRITZ offers a wide range of innovative products and services in the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) sector under the brand name of Metris. In addition, the international technology Group is active in power generation (steam boiler plants, biomass power plants, recovery boilers, and gasification plants) and environmental technology (flue gas cleaning plants) and offers equipment for the production of nonwovens, dissolving pulp, and panelboard, as well as recycling plants.

A passion for innovative technology, absolute customer focus, reliability, and integrity are the central values to which ANDRITZ commits. The listed Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria. With over 160 years of experience, 29,000 employees, and more than 280 locations in over 40 countries worldwide, ANDRITZ is a reliable and competent partner and helps its customers to achieve their corporate and sustainability goals.

ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER
ANDRITZ Pulp & Paper is a leading global supplier of complete plants, systems, equipment, and comprehensive services for the production and processing of all types of pulp, paper, board, and tissue. The technologies cover processing of logs, annual fibers, and waste paper; production of chemical pulp, mechanical pulp, and recycled fibers; recovery and reuse of chemicals; preparation of paper machine furnish; production of paper, board, and tissue; sizing, calendering and coating of paper; as well as treatment of reject materials and sludge. The service offering includes system and machine modernization, rebuilds, spare and wear parts, on-site and workshop services, optimization of process performance, maintenance and automation solutions, as well as machine relocation and second-hand equipment. Biomass, steam and recovery boilers for power production, gasification and flue gas cleaning plants, systems and plants for the production of nonwovens, dissolving pulp, and panelboard (MDF), as well as recycling and shredding solutions for various waste materials also form a part of this business area.
 
01:57 AM, May 23, 2021 / Last modified: 02:06 AM, May 23, 2021
Bombay litchi will be available in the first week of June
Farmers and traders are hopeful that the prices will be good


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This year, 50 to 60 percent of litchi has been harvested in most areas. Photo: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Tapu
, Pabna

Abdus Salam, a litchi farmer and seasonal litchi trader from Char Silimpur village in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna, has bought three orchards this year. There are more than one hundred and fifty litchi trees in his three gardens. Most of which are hybrid Bombay variety litchi. Also, there are native species of Ati litchi trees. Although the Bombay litchi is not yet fully ripe, Salam has started marketing Ati litchi. Although Salam was happy to get a good price, he said the litchi crop would not be as profitable as expected.

Litchi trader Salam told The Daily Star: “Every year, about 15,000 to 20,000 litchis are grown from one big tree. However, this time more than 10 to 12 thousand litchis are not available from big trees due to crop failure. The small trees have also been affected by the crop failure.

Salam said he had to buy three litchi orchards for around Tk 2.5 lakh and sell litchi worth Tk 3.5 to 4 lakh, but now he is struggling to make ends meet due to crop failure.

Every litchi farmer and seasonal litchi trader in Ishwardi upazila, known as the capital of litchi, is in the same situation as Salam. Litchi farmers and traders in Ishwardi and Pabna, one of the major litchi producing areas of the country, are worried as they have not been able to get the desired yield due to crop failure.

Char Silimpur village litchi garden owner and businessman. Dulal Hossain told The Daily Star, “Most of the litchi buds have dried up this year due to severe drought. Due to excessive drought, litchis do not get enough water when they grow and many litchi trees are destroyed. Although there was no damage due to the storm during the litchi harvest, this time most of the litchi has been destroyed due to the drought.

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About 15 to 20 thousand litchis are produced annually from one big tree. Photo: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Tapu

In most areas, 50 to 60 percent of the litchi orchards have been harvested and the rest has been destroyed. Although farmers tried to reduce the damage with fertilizers and poisons, this year's litchi crop was disrupted due to unfavorable nature, said Dulal Hossain.

Abdul Quader, Deputy Director, Pabna Agricultural Extension Department, told The Daily Star, “Litchi has been planted on 3,400 hectares of land in Pabna this year. From which the target of litchi production has been set at about 41,000 metric tons.

However, he acknowledged that there had been some crop failures this year due to the drought, but said there was no reason for farmers to panic.

Although farmers claimed that about 50 per cent of litchis were damaged due to the drought, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension Abdul Quader claimed that 20 to 25 per cent of litchis were damaged.

Litchi traders said that since Eid, the work of breaking litchi in Ishwardi and surrounding areas of Pabna has started. Ati litchis are being marketed in the first phase, they said. This litchi will be broken in another week. The high yielding Bombay litchi will be available in the market from the first week of June.

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Every day 20 to 30 trucks of litchi are being sent to different parts of the country from Ishwardi. Photo: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Tapu

Abdul Mannan Shamim, a litchi trader from Digha area of Ishwardi, told The Daily Star, “Farmers are getting good price of litchi from the very beginning. Hundreds of litchis are being sold from the garden for around 180 to 200 rupees. If the market is so high, litchi farmers and traders will be able to make up for the loss by marketing litchi in Bombay.

Shamim said 25 per cent of litchis have not been broken yet, with 20 to 30 trucks of litchis being sent from Ishwardi to different parts of the country for marketing every day. Once the litchi is completely broken, hundreds of trucks of litchi can be sent to different parts of the country every day for marketing.

Meanwhile, various areas of Ishwardi and its environs have been visited on the spot, litchi is being picked from the trees, litchi is picked, litchi is packed, litchi is loaded on the truck and the whole area is busy with litchi. The garden owners and traders involved in litchi said that it will be busy for the next two to three weeks.
 
Seriously, Bangladesh is the country to beat on e-payments

Exclusive interview with Anir Chowdhury, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Innovation.
By Joshua Chambers and Nurfilzah Rohaidi
SMART GOV

Forget everything you know about finance.

What if you could pay your taxes with SMS? What if you could send and receive money without ever visiting a bank – or even having an account? What if biometrics could ensure that you are who you say you are, without needing an appointment or a signed letter or a proof of address?

This is already happening in Bangladesh, a developing nation that skipped a step when it comes to shillings. And as nations look to transform their payments systems, they shouldn’t just look at New York, London or Singapore. They need to train their eyes on the developing world, which is eating them up for breakfast.

GovInsider sought out Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, to understand how government is leading these reforms – and how a developing nation with massive problems is still innovating to get one step ahead of the rest. Chowdhury heads the Access to Information (a2i) program, an innovation lab within the Prime Minister’s Office that is driving these changes.

Bangladesh goes mobile

First, some context. Bangladesh has a large rural population that mostly deals in cash. A traditional banking system doesn’t work here, Chowdhury says, and there are high service charges that put people off from using financial services.

However, more than 130 million of 160 million Bangladeshis own mobile phones. Beyond making calls, these phones can also be used to connect rural citizens to financial services. a2i has partnered with bKash, the largest mobile financial service organization in the country, to allow rural customers to deposit cash or send money using text messages.

A new project will take this a step further. a2i is working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to build a new system for citizens to receive social welfare payments. This is vital for the government: Bangladesh sends out over US$5 billion each year – almost 3% of its GDP – according to Chowdhury.

The new system registers citizens using their biometric data, such as fingerprints, and then lets them receive payments on their phone or on a smart card. “A person with a bank account and a biometrically-verified identity can have extreme mobility in terms of making and receiving payments from anywhere in the country – and most importantly – at his or her doorstep without going to a financial institution,” Chowdhury says. The platform will be integrated with Bangladesh Bank and the local banks.

“A person with a bank account and a biometrically-verified identity can have extreme mobility.”
In fact, it has already been trialed out. Together with the Department of Social Services and the Ministry of Social Welfare, a2i conducted a pilot for this payment service in the Tangail district. Around 7,000 citizens were biometrically registered and received their allowances through pre-paid debit cards at the Bangladesh Post Office. a2i is now looking into scaling up this pilot to 13 more districts, according to a brief on the topic.

Creating new financial hubs

The government has built a network of “access points” across rural areas that allow citizens without phones to make payments. “A typical bank would have 50-100 branches, but these digital centres can create 4,500 bank branches in rural areas and 700 in urban areas overnight,” says Chowdhury. The wide reach of this network also opens up possibilities to partner with banks and other private sector organisations to better serve rural farmers and villagers.

Last year, a new service called “agent banking” was introduced to over a third of these access points. It sees traditional banks place representatives in government offices to conduct banking services, like loans.

These access points with banking agents are now considered as full banks – even without a safe stuffed with bullion. “In the past one year alone, we have set up about 1,200 bank branches in these 4,500 locations, and that number is continuing to rise,” Chowdhury explains.

The origins of a2i

However, a cash-reliant culture faces a big problem: corruption. Bangladesh topped the Corruption Perceptions Index five years in a row from 2002 to 2006, and officials hoped that “technology will bring some measure of transparency”, Chowdhury says. That’s where a2i got its name – it means ‘access 2 information’.

An early lesson for his unit was to moderate their language. “Talking about transparency was counterproductive among mid-level and even senior officials. They felt that an attempt to bring transparency would be a threat to the way they functioned,” Chowdhury explains.

“Talking about transparency was counterproductive.”
“We learned not to use the words ‘transparency’ and ‘corruption’ too much,” he says, and instead, they use the words “innovation” and “dashboards”. This was much better received, and let them achieve the same results.


The present day a2i has three objectives: creating digital services across government; setting up access points for service delivery; and developing a “culture of innovation” within the civil service.

In its early days, there was a heavy focus on technology and websites, Chowdhury says. This was part of government’s attempt to break away from the “command and control” bureaucratic structure – a relic of colonialism, he says. “That [structure] brought a lot of turf issues. But if you introduce technology, many turfs break down,” he explains.

Chowdhury found that his early work faced many structural barriers, causing a2i to reconsider its mission. Creating a culture of innovation became important, he notes. “I would say was the biggest breakthrough of a2i. You can talk to almost all civil servants now about innovation practices, and have him or her not laugh at the idea,” he says.

Chowdhury is not a natural bureaucrat. He studied computer science at the Ivy League, with stints in tech companies and business roles in Fortune 500 firms. But the lure of doing good proved too strong, so he returned to his home nation to change the public sector.

Looking ahead, a2i will continue to digitize government services across the board, he says. There are also plans in place to develop a franchise model for the access points with the private sector taking over. “These digital centers [will] function as entities, loosely supervised by us,” he says.

a2i will similarly change its business model, becoming a “social enterprise”, Chowdhury explains. “Currently, it is a government program; but in the next one year it will emerge as a foundation or even a company – using these 5,300 centers as point-of-service delivery,” he says.

It seems fitting that an agency that changed payments is now changing itself. It did away with banking infrastructure; maybe it’ll do the same for government.

In fact, perhaps there should be a new rule for 21st century finance. While you’ll want to learn from Wall Street, don’t forget Dhaka.
 
By 2030, Bangladesh will be the 24th largest economy. Here's how ICT is driving that growth
large_bGFzyj_ErAXkLRuPTfSxM2hKXPgTlYBn44Smr41yVqc.jpg

By 2021, Bangladesh expects its ICT exports to be worth $5 billion
Image: Beyond Access/Flickr






In Bangladesh, more than 120 companies export information and communications technology (ICT) products worth nearly $1 billion to 35 countries. By 2021, it’s expected that this will increase to $5 billion. Indeed, the growing strength of the ICT Industry underpins the four vital pillars that will support Bangladesh’s transformation to a digital economy by 2021, and a knowledge economy by 2041.

Announced in 2008 and officially launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2009, the Digital Bangladesh Vision identifies human resource development, connecting citizens, digital government and the aforementioned promotion of the ICT industry as critical to meeting these transformation targets. Here’s why they are so important:

Human resource development
The government wants Bangladesh to be a gateway for the digital world and has started multiple initiatives to develop a skilled, equipped and digital-ready pool of talent. Our education system produces more than 500,000 university graduates every year and, thanks to the introduction of several dedicated training programmes to get the talent pool ready to deliver value on a global scale, we have trained more than 65,000 Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITeS) professionals in the past year.

Have you read?
According to the Oxford Internet Institute, Bangladesh has the second largest pool of online workers in the world. To further enhance skills, we have established specialized labs in all of the country’s 130 universities. We are investing in frontier tech centers of excellence with global technology partners such as IBM, and we have a strong focus on training professionals in emerging technologies – the Internet of Things, blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and analytics.

Connecting citizens
The next pillar is about connecting citizens - and Bangladesh is committed to ensuring 100% internet connectivity by 2021. We have already made good progress with currently more than 93 million internet subscribers and 160 million mobile subscriptions throughout the nation, making Bangladesh the fifth largest mobile market in Asia Pacific and the ninth largest in the world.

We have ensured seamless connectivity through two submarine cable connections with 1,700 gigabits per second (Gbps) and seven ITC connections with 400 Gbps. We plan to further enhance this by becoming an early adopter of 5G. By the end of 2019, we will provide high-speed internet connectivity to even remote villages.

In order to ensure a cost-effective space for companies interested in investing in Bangladesh, we are building 28 high-tech parks around the country and plan to increase this to 64. There is a focus on developing a thriving environment for partners and investors who are keen to take advantage of the opportunity that Bangladesh presents.

Digital governance
E-governance is the next step in driving the Digital Bangladesh engine forward. The government is proactively pursuing the digitalization of all government portals, such as passport applications and visa applications, by the year 2023. In 2014, we developed the National Portal which now houses more than 45,000 websites and services of different government offices. We have developed more than 5,000 digital centres across the country to help provide various digital services to citizens, while addressing the issue of a digital divide.

Our Bangladesh National Digital Architecture (BNDA), which ensures interoperability, won a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) award this year and WSIS has recognized Bangladesh for different e-government or digital government initiatives for the past six years in a row.

We have established a Digital Service Accelerator to expedite and facilitate the e-services of all ministries and have issued more than 100 million digital IDs to our citizens – one of the highest volumes in the world. Services are very carefully designed to ensure they are relevant to all three groups of Bangladeshi citizens: younger, tech-savvy generations growing up with technology; “digital adapters,” who are middle-aged individuals who have adopted technology; and the minority who stay away from technology. The scale of digital governance in Bangladesh has a tremendous impact on the transformation of the nation.

Promotion of the ICT industry
The vibrant and rapidly growing ICT industry in Bangladesh is the fourth area supporting digital transformation. We serve clients in an array of domains, including financial services, telecoms and healthcare, and drive the IT/ITES engine behind some of the world’s most global companies.
The four pillars behind Digital Bangladesh are strengthened by strong government commitment and support.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We are 34th in the World Economic Forum’s Inclusive Development Index, ahead of many established nations, and by 2030, we will be the 24th largest economy in the world. The essential ingredient behind this growth has been the smart use of ICT to spur progress in all sectors.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


How the digital economy is shaping a new Bangladesh
Students at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) show their identity cards as they take part in a protest following a silent procession to demand the removal of the university's Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellor in Dhaka July 15, 2012. Bangladesh aims to get the full picture on corruption in the education ministry by installing closed-circuit television cameras in its key offices in the capital to catch bureaucrats taking bribes for services. Picture taken on July 15, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (BANGLADESH - Tags: EDUCATION CIVIL UNREST) - GM1E87H1RCW01

Freelancing is a good option for highly educated women in Bangladesh.
Image: REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

With the advent of rapid digitalization, many developing countries like Bangladesh are focusing on the digital economy: a global market for digital outsourcing.

The digitalization of a country’s economy not only drives innovation in its service industry, it also fuels domestic job opportunities, enabling faster economic growth. In the quest to lower costs and risks, many large corporations in developed nations like the US, UK and Australia are turning to IT outsourcing from countries including Bangladesh, leading to a recent boom in freelancing.

Freelancing jobs include everything from computer programming to web design, tax preparation, and search engine optimization. This has generated a wide range of new opportunities for people in emerging markets that did not previously exist. Asia has become the number-one region for providing outsourcing services to the rest of the world.


The Online Labour Index, by region
Image: Oxford Internet Institute

Freelancing offers many advantages, including the freedom to choose clients and projects, access to the global market, and flexibility over location. Most importantly, freelancers can avoid the long, frustrating hours commuting in traffic in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

Consequently, freelancing has become a popular career option for many Bangladeshi people, offering a new and flexible source of income that suits their lifestyles.

The rapid digitalization of Bangladesh - including easy internet access in urban areas and government and non-government initiatives to promote freelancing - has contributed to the recent growth of this way of working.

As a result, Bangladesh has already become the second-largest supplier of online labour, according to the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). About 500,000 active freelancers are working regularly, out of 650,000 registered freelancers in the country; between them they are generating $100 million annually, according to the ICT Division of Bangladesh.


The Online Labour Index, by country
Image: Oxford Internet Institute

India is the largest supplier of online labour, with close to 24% of total global freelance workers, followed by Bangladesh (16%) and the US (12%). Different countries focus on different sectors of freelancing services. For instance, technology and software development is dominated by Indian freelancers, while Bangladesh is the top supplier of sales and marketing support services.

Freelancing: a solution to the unemployment problem
One in every 10 of Bangladesh's 44 million young people is unemployed, according to research by World Vision Bangladesh. Moreover, thousands of graduates who are finishing their studies at different public and private universities in Bangladesh are failing to find suitable positions in the job market each year.

As a result, the rate of educated unemployment in the country is increasing exponentially. However, these young unemployed people can easily start their career by taking some IT training and freelancing online. By doing so, they not only make a living but also contribute to the economy by earning a salary in a valuable foreign currency.

Opportunities for women
A lot of women in Bangladesh, including highly educated women, often sacrifice their careers in order to take care of their families. Freelancing is becoming a preferred career option for many Bangladeshi women, as it provides them with an opportunity to work from home.

Bangladeshi women who are looking to take a step out of their traditional domestic roles are finding freelance jobs to be a great solution. Research shows that in terms of the quality of the work, Bangladesh's female freelancers have started gaining more credibility than their male counterparts. Increasing women's participation in freelancing is therefore boosting trust in the sector.

Challenges
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.

Nevertheless, several challenges hinder the growth of this industry in Bangladesh. The absence of an uninterrupted power supply is still a major problem for the country. Freelancing work, like complex coding for software development, requires a high level of concentration, which is often shattered by the frequent power cuts.

A lack of quality internet services, along with higher broadband prices, is a major problem for freelancers in rural areas. In spite of having broadband connections in some areas, freelancers often find it too slow to suit their work.

The lack of an easy payment system – especially for receiving payments from foreign clients – is another problem for this fast-growing industry.

And women's participation in freelancing, although increasing gradually, is still not high enough.

The way forward
Bangladesh is one of the few countries in Asia that has a huge youth population. Of its 163 million people, almost 65% are under the age of 25. This vast, young and strong human resource, however, is still lacking in the knowledge necessary to thrive in the competitive global market.

Although freelancing as a career has gained in popularity over the last few years, thousands of Bangladesh's young people are in need of proper training and government support to help them take advantage of this opportunity.

The government should focus on turning unemployed young people into tech-savvy workers and engage them in IT-based freelancing. In this way, the government of Bangladesh can attain its goal of translating the vision of Digital Bangladesh into a reality by focusing on human capital development for the global digital economy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Bangladesh can thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Bangladesh is one of the world's fastest-growing economies

I recently learnt the story of a fascinating Bangladeshi couple, Rini Ishan and Rakib Reza. The pair have quietly been manufacturing commercial robots in Bangladesh, including a 3D concrete-printing robot. So far in 2018, their company Planetary Limited has exported 11 robots to South Korea.


For some time, I have been telling friends around the world that Bangladesh has arrived at the nuclear age and space age, and that it’s a ‘shirt-to-ship’ story. I can now proudly say that Bangladesh is also in the age of robotics and 3D printing.

Rini and Rakib are not alone. Thousands of young Bangladeshi people have already put the country on the global IT freelancing map. Thanks to the passion, imagination and steady work of a few, ‘Digital Bangladesh’ is now a reality, contributing to the transformation of our social and economic landscape at the grassroots. For instance, 4,554 Union Digital Centres, more than 100 simplified public services, e-procurement and smart health cards are leading Bangladesh down the 4IR path.

I once asked Professor Schwab why he had labelled the fourth generation technological changes as a ‘revolution’. So many of us in Bangladesh grew up knowing revolution as something cataclysmic. Professor Schwab responded that these upcoming technologies are bringing transformative impacts to the thinking, values, life and work of every person, enterprise, industry and nation in ways that have been unfathomable until recently.

While revolutions in history have been loud, visible and often bloody, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is rolling out so quietly, yet bringing effects infinitely more profound than earlier technological and political upheavals. We are seeing how a tsunami of science, technology and innovation, and the creative use of 4IR tools and applications, are changing the lives of individuals, companies and countries across the world, from entertainment to education to employment.

Drawing inspiration from Professor Schwab’s words, the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, recently organized a national workshop on the 4IR and its impacts on the country. The event was designed to help stakeholders appreciate that the 4IR is real and present, even in Bangladesh.

Every one of us must get ready, whether we are in government, business or research. And we must move fast. We need to employ imagination, creativity and innovation, without hindrance or inhibition, in our schools, factories, companies and even in government. Indeed, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in 2017, Bangladesh is open and ready to move on the 4IR, to support start-ups, and to pilot innovative applications in our farms and factories.

Bangladesh has long been a story of the aspiration, resilience and innovation of millions of young women and men across villages and towns. In our brief, five-decade history, the country has constantly battled against natural and man-made disasters, and yet has sustained high economic growth. Today, we are one of the fastest-growing economies globally, expanding at over 7% annually. During the past decade, under the stewardship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we also significantly reduced poverty and inequality.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution coincides with the period when Bangladesh transitions towards a developed country. By 2030, around half of Bangladesh will be living in urban areas. These people will demand all kind of goods and services that we cannot predict today.

There is no point in debating whether the Fourth Industrial Revolution is good or bad, or whether it will benefit Bangladesh or not. It’s not something for us to accept, reject or regulate. It is time that we join hands with everyone to embrace the 4IR robustly. By hosting a first-ever national conversation and workshop on the 4IR, I believe we have made the first step towards achieving that objective.
What’s behind Bangladesh’s surging consumer market?
large_fMOhlI9fg5vQBYIbMje68Qw2qHEfyBogNAH50rCpy40.jpg

Zarif Munir
Writer, BCG
This article is published in collaboration with BCG Perspecitives.

You feel the energy soon after disembarking at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. All of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, seems to throb with bustling masses of people. Bridges, expressway overpasses, and major new neighborhoods are continually under construction. Evidence of the country’s rising disposable income is on display at crowded shopping malls such as Jamuna Future Park, the largest in South Asia, and new billboards, which seem to cover every available space, advertise products as varied as packaged foods and smartphones.

To much of the outside world, Bangladesh remains synonymous with poverty. It is time to take a new look at this land of 160 million: this rapidly developing economy is one of the world’s next great growth markets for discretionary consumption.

Although the number of middle-class and affluent consumers in Bangladesh remains small compared with those of other big emerging markets in Asia, Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide. We project that, each year for the next decade, the annual income of around 2 million additional Bangladeshis will reach $5,000 or more.

That means that they will be earning enough to afford goods that offer convenience and luxury, such as air conditioners, imported shampoos, and cosmetics. And although half of Bangladeshis still live at the so-called bottom of the pyramid, economists estimate that another 30 million to 40 million will make the leap from poverty to the entry rungs of the middle class by 2025.

To help companies gain a deeper understanding of the middle and affluent class (MAC) in this increasingly important—but often neglected—market, The Boston Consulting Group’s Center for Customer Insight surveyed around 2,000 households across the country. We asked consumers about their sense of financial well-being, their purchasing habits, and their consumption priorities for some 70 product categories. To help companies anticipate when consumption is likely to take off in these categories, we also analyzed changes in Bangladeshi household consumption of specific goods and services relative to rising incomes.
The following are among our key findings:
  • Bangladesh’s consumer class is swelling and dispersing. Although only some 7 percent of the country’s current population can be classified as middle income or affluent, compared with 38 percent in Indonesia, MAC Bangladeshis will account for around 17 percent of the population by 2025. Consumer wealth is also dispersing regionally: projections indicate that within the next decade, 63 cities will have MAC populations of at least 100,000, compared with 36 now.
  • Consumers intend to spend but are wary of debt. Sixty percent of consumers report that they expect their incomes to rise over the next 12 months, and 69 percent say that there are more things they want to buy. But they are restrained by concerns—due perhaps to social taboos or to a lack of familiarity with debt instruments—that they will run up debt that they won’t be able repay. Alleviating this concern could unlock great growth opportunities.
  • Consumers are highly loyal to brands, but they are also budget and quality conscious. Most Bangladeshi consumers—more than 80 percent in the case of durables—cite brand as a top factor that influences their buying decisions. These consumers work within a budget, and price is often cited as a second priority over quality. Far fewer Bangladeshis than consumers in Southeast Asian emerging markets say that price discounts sway their decisions.
  • Consumers increasingly use the mobile Internet. Forty-one percent of Bangladeshi consumers surveyed—and 68 percent of MAC consumers—own Internet-enabled smartphones. Currently, most transactions are in cash, but the popularity of smartphones suggests that more consumers will be making the leap to mobile payment, creating an opportunity for reaching households through wireless mobile services. Eighty-one percent of consumers said that they trust what they read online, and 66 percent search for product information online.
Although these findings suggest that tremendous growth opportunities will unfold over the coming decade, companies must approach this market with a sophisticated understanding of the Bangladeshi consumer. They should also address the constraints that prevent consumers from acting on their strong desire to purchase brands and should introduce products that meet household budgets. Companies can expand their reach through different retail channels and in more locations.

For the next few years, companies should focus on ramping up their operations to meet growing demand from MAC households in Dhaka, Chittagong, and a handful of other cities. But at the same time, they should begin laying the groundwork for a broader expansion as the MAC population continues to grow and as buying power spreads swiftly throughout the country.

The strong brand consciousness of Bangladeshi consumers suggests that the companies that can now establish themselves as trustworthy, build market share, and develop a reputation for delivering good quality will be those that reap the biggest rewards in what promises to be one of world’s next big growth markets.

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

Author: Zarif Munir, Olivier Muehlstein, and Vivek Nauhbar are writers at BCG Perspectives.
 
Last edited:
By 2030, Bangladesh will be the 24th largest economy. Here's how ICT is driving that growth
large_bGFzyj_ErAXkLRuPTfSxM2hKXPgTlYBn44Smr41yVqc.jpg

By 2021, Bangladesh expects its ICT exports to be worth $5 billion
Image: Beyond Access/Flickr






In Bangladesh, more than 120 companies export information and communications technology (ICT) products worth nearly $1 billion to 35 countries. By 2021, it’s expected that this will increase to $5 billion. Indeed, the growing strength of the ICT Industry underpins the four vital pillars that will support Bangladesh’s transformation to a digital economy by 2021, and a knowledge economy by 2041.

Announced in 2008 and officially launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2009, the Digital Bangladesh Vision identifies human resource development, connecting citizens, digital government and the aforementioned promotion of the ICT industry as critical to meeting these transformation targets. Here’s why they are so important:

Human resource development
The government wants Bangladesh to be a gateway for the digital world and has started multiple initiatives to develop a skilled, equipped and digital-ready pool of talent. Our education system produces more than 500,000 university graduates every year and, thanks to the introduction of several dedicated training programmes to get the talent pool ready to deliver value on a global scale, we have trained more than 65,000 Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITeS) professionals in the past year.

Have you read?
According to the Oxford Internet Institute, Bangladesh has the second largest pool of online workers in the world. To further enhance skills, we have established specialized labs in all of the country’s 130 universities. We are investing in frontier tech centers of excellence with global technology partners such as IBM, and we have a strong focus on training professionals in emerging technologies – the Internet of Things, blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and analytics.

Connecting citizens
The next pillar is about connecting citizens - and Bangladesh is committed to ensuring 100% internet connectivity by 2021. We have already made good progress with currently more than 93 million internet subscribers and 160 million mobile subscriptions throughout the nation, making Bangladesh the fifth largest mobile market in Asia Pacific and the ninth largest in the world.

We have ensured seamless connectivity through two submarine cable connections with 1,700 gigabits per second (Gbps) and seven ITC connections with 400 Gbps. We plan to further enhance this by becoming an early adopter of 5G. By the end of 2019, we will provide high-speed internet connectivity to even remote villages.

In order to ensure a cost-effective space for companies interested in investing in Bangladesh, we are building 28 high-tech parks around the country and plan to increase this to 64. There is a focus on developing a thriving environment for partners and investors who are keen to take advantage of the opportunity that Bangladesh presents.

Digital governance
E-governance is the next step in driving the Digital Bangladesh engine forward. The government is proactively pursuing the digitalization of all government portals, such as passport applications and visa applications, by the year 2023. In 2014, we developed the National Portal which now houses more than 45,000 websites and services of different government offices. We have developed more than 5,000 digital centres across the country to help provide various digital services to citizens, while addressing the issue of a digital divide.

Our Bangladesh National Digital Architecture (BNDA), which ensures interoperability, won a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) award this year and WSIS has recognized Bangladesh for different e-government or digital government initiatives for the past six years in a row.

We have established a Digital Service Accelerator to expedite and facilitate the e-services of all ministries and have issued more than 100 million digital IDs to our citizens – one of the highest volumes in the world. Services are very carefully designed to ensure they are relevant to all three groups of Bangladeshi citizens: younger, tech-savvy generations growing up with technology; “digital adapters,” who are middle-aged individuals who have adopted technology; and the minority who stay away from technology. The scale of digital governance in Bangladesh has a tremendous impact on the transformation of the nation.

Promotion of the ICT industry
The vibrant and rapidly growing ICT industry in Bangladesh is the fourth area supporting digital transformation. We serve clients in an array of domains, including financial services, telecoms and healthcare, and drive the IT/ITES engine behind some of the world’s most global companies.
The four pillars behind Digital Bangladesh are strengthened by strong government commitment and support.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We are 34th in the World Economic Forum’s Inclusive Development Index, ahead of many established nations, and by 2030, we will be the 24th largest economy in the world. The essential ingredient behind this growth has been the smart use of ICT to spur progress in all sectors.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


How the digital economy is shaping a new Bangladesh
Students at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) show their identity cards as they take part in a protest following a silent procession to demand the removal of the university's Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellor in Dhaka July 15, 2012. Bangladesh aims to get the full picture on corruption in the education ministry by installing closed-circuit television cameras in its key offices in the capital to catch bureaucrats taking bribes for services. Picture taken on July 15, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (BANGLADESH - Tags: EDUCATION CIVIL UNREST) - GM1E87H1RCW01's Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellor in Dhaka July 15, 2012. Bangladesh aims to get the full picture on corruption in the education ministry by installing closed-circuit television cameras in its key offices in the capital to catch bureaucrats taking bribes for services. Picture taken on July 15, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (BANGLADESH - Tags: EDUCATION CIVIL UNREST) - GM1E87H1RCW01

Freelancing is a good option for highly educated women in Bangladesh.
Image: REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

With the advent of rapid digitalization, many developing countries like Bangladesh are focusing on the digital economy: a global market for digital outsourcing.

The digitalization of a country’s economy not only drives innovation in its service industry, it also fuels domestic job opportunities, enabling faster economic growth. In the quest to lower costs and risks, many large corporations in developed nations like the US, UK and Australia are turning to IT outsourcing from countries including Bangladesh, leading to a recent boom in freelancing.

Freelancing jobs include everything from computer programming to web design, tax preparation, and search engine optimization. This has generated a wide range of new opportunities for people in emerging markets that did not previously exist. Asia has become the number-one region for providing outsourcing services to the rest of the world.


The Online Labour Index, by region
Image: Oxford Internet Institute

Freelancing offers many advantages, including the freedom to choose clients and projects, access to the global market, and flexibility over location. Most importantly, freelancers can avoid the long, frustrating hours commuting in traffic in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

Consequently, freelancing has become a popular career option for many Bangladeshi people, offering a new and flexible source of income that suits their lifestyles.

The rapid digitalization of Bangladesh - including easy internet access in urban areas and government and non-government initiatives to promote freelancing - has contributed to the recent growth of this way of working.

As a result, Bangladesh has already become the second-largest supplier of online labour, according to the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). About 500,000 active freelancers are working regularly, out of 650,000 registered freelancers in the country; between them they are generating $100 million annually, according to the ICT Division of Bangladesh.


The Online Labour Index, by country
Image: Oxford Internet Institute

India is the largest supplier of online labour, with close to 24% of total global freelance workers, followed by Bangladesh (16%) and the US (12%). Different countries focus on different sectors of freelancing services. For instance, technology and software development is dominated by Indian freelancers, while Bangladesh is the top supplier of sales and marketing support services.

Freelancing: a solution to the unemployment problem
One in every 10 of Bangladesh's 44 million young people is unemployed, according to research by World Vision Bangladesh. Moreover, thousands of graduates who are finishing their studies at different public and private universities in Bangladesh are failing to find suitable positions in the job market each year.

As a result, the rate of educated unemployment in the country is increasing exponentially. However, these young unemployed people can easily start their career by taking some IT training and freelancing online. By doing so, they not only make a living but also contribute to the economy by earning a salary in a valuable foreign currency.

Opportunities for women
A lot of women in Bangladesh, including highly educated women, often sacrifice their careers in order to take care of their families. Freelancing is becoming a preferred career option for many Bangladeshi women, as it provides them with an opportunity to work from home.

Bangladeshi women who are looking to take a step out of their traditional domestic roles are finding freelance jobs to be a great solution. Research shows that in terms of the quality of the work, Bangladesh's female freelancers have started gaining more credibility than their male counterparts. Increasing women's participation in freelancing is therefore boosting trust in the sector.

Challenges
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.

Nevertheless, several challenges hinder the growth of this industry in Bangladesh. The absence of an uninterrupted power supply is still a major problem for the country. Freelancing work, like complex coding for software development, requires a high level of concentration, which is often shattered by the frequent power cuts.

A lack of quality internet services, along with higher broadband prices, is a major problem for freelancers in rural areas. In spite of having broadband connections in some areas, freelancers often find it too slow to suit their work.

The lack of an easy payment system – especially for receiving payments from foreign clients – is another problem for this fast-growing industry.

And women's participation in freelancing, although increasing gradually, is still not high enough.

The way forward
Bangladesh is one of the few countries in Asia that has a huge youth population. Of its 163 million people, almost 65% are under the age of 25. This vast, young and strong human resource, however, is still lacking in the knowledge necessary to thrive in the competitive global market.

Although freelancing as a career has gained in popularity over the last few years, thousands of Bangladesh's young people are in need of proper training and government support to help them take advantage of this opportunity.

The government should focus on turning unemployed young people into tech-savvy workers and engage them in IT-based freelancing. In this way, the government of Bangladesh can attain its goal of translating the vision of Digital Bangladesh into a reality by focusing on human capital development for the global digital economy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Bangladesh can thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Bangladesh is one of the world's fastest-growing economies

I recently learnt the story of a fascinating Bangladeshi couple, Rini Ishan and Rakib Reza. The pair have quietly been manufacturing commercial robots in Bangladesh, including a 3D concrete-printing robot. So far in 2018, their company Planetary Limited has exported 11 robots to South Korea.


For some time, I have been telling friends around the world that Bangladesh has arrived at the nuclear age and space age, and that it’s a ‘shirt-to-ship’ story. I can now proudly say that Bangladesh is also in the age of robotics and 3D printing.

Rini and Rakib are not alone. Thousands of young Bangladeshi people have already put the country on the global IT freelancing map. Thanks to the passion, imagination and steady work of a few, ‘Digital Bangladesh’ is now a reality, contributing to the transformation of our social and economic landscape at the grassroots. For instance, 4,554 Union Digital Centres, more than 100 simplified public services, e-procurement and smart health cards are leading Bangladesh down the 4IR path.

I once asked Professor Schwab why he had labelled the fourth generation technological changes as a ‘revolution’. So many of us in Bangladesh grew up knowing revolution as something cataclysmic. Professor Schwab responded that these upcoming technologies are bringing transformative impacts to the thinking, values, life and work of every person, enterprise, industry and nation in ways that have been unfathomable until recently.

While revolutions in history have been loud, visible and often bloody, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is rolling out so quietly, yet bringing effects infinitely more profound than earlier technological and political upheavals. We are seeing how a tsunami of science, technology and innovation, and the creative use of 4IR tools and applications, are changing the lives of individuals, companies and countries across the world, from entertainment to education to employment.

Drawing inspiration from Professor Schwab’s words, the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, recently organized a national workshop on the 4IR and its impacts on the country. The event was designed to help stakeholders appreciate that the 4IR is real and present, even in Bangladesh.

Every one of us must get ready, whether we are in government, business or research. And we must move fast. We need to employ imagination, creativity and innovation, without hindrance or inhibition, in our schools, factories, companies and even in government. Indeed, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in 2017, Bangladesh is open and ready to move on the 4IR, to support start-ups, and to pilot innovative applications in our farms and factories.

Bangladesh has long been a story of the aspiration, resilience and innovation of millions of young women and men across villages and towns. In our brief, five-decade history, the country has constantly battled against natural and man-made disasters, and yet has sustained high economic growth. Today, we are one of the fastest-growing economies globally, expanding at over 7% annually. During the past decade, under the stewardship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we also significantly reduced poverty and inequality.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution coincides with the period when Bangladesh transitions towards a developed country. By 2030, around half of Bangladesh will be living in urban areas. These people will demand all kind of goods and services that we cannot predict today.

There is no point in debating whether the Fourth Industrial Revolution is good or bad, or whether it will benefit Bangladesh or not. It’s not something for us to accept, reject or regulate. It is time that we join hands with everyone to embrace the 4IR robustly. By hosting a first-ever national conversation and workshop on the 4IR, I believe we have made the first step towards achieving that objective.
What’s behind Bangladesh’s surging consumer market?
large_fMOhlI9fg5vQBYIbMje68Qw2qHEfyBogNAH50rCpy40.jpg

Zarif Munir
Writer, BCG
This article is published in collaboration with BCG Perspecitives.

You feel the energy soon after disembarking at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. All of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, seems to throb with bustling masses of people. Bridges, expressway overpasses, and major new neighborhoods are continually under construction. Evidence of the country’s rising disposable income is on display at crowded shopping malls such as Jamuna Future Park, the largest in South Asia, and new billboards, which seem to cover every available space, advertise products as varied as packaged foods and smartphones.

To much of the outside world, Bangladesh remains synonymous with poverty. It is time to take a new look at this land of 160 million: this rapidly developing economy is one of the world’s next great growth markets for discretionary consumption.

Although the number of middle-class and affluent consumers in Bangladesh remains small compared with those of other big emerging markets in Asia, Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide. We project that, each year for the next decade, the annual income of around 2 million additional Bangladeshis will reach $5,000 or more.

That means that they will be earning enough to afford goods that offer convenience and luxury, such as air conditioners, imported shampoos, and cosmetics. And although half of Bangladeshis still live at the so-called bottom of the pyramid, economists estimate that another 30 million to 40 million will make the leap from poverty to the entry rungs of the middle class by 2025.

To help companies gain a deeper understanding of the middle and affluent class (MAC) in this increasingly important—but often neglected—market, The Boston Consulting Group’s Center for Customer Insight surveyed around 2,000 households across the country. We asked consumers about their sense of financial well-being, their purchasing habits, and their consumption priorities for some 70 product categories. To help companies anticipate when consumption is likely to take off in these categories, we also analyzed changes in Bangladeshi household consumption of specific goods and services relative to rising incomes.
The following are among our key findings:
  • Bangladesh’s consumer class is swelling and dispersing. Although only some 7 percent of the country’s current population can be classified as middle income or affluent, compared with 38 percent in Indonesia, MAC Bangladeshis will account for around 17 percent of the population by 2025. Consumer wealth is also dispersing regionally: projections indicate that within the next decade, 63 cities will have MAC populations of at least 100,000, compared with 36 now.
  • Consumers intend to spend but are wary of debt. Sixty percent of consumers report that they expect their incomes to rise over the next 12 months, and 69 percent say that there are more things they want to buy. But they are restrained by concerns—due perhaps to social taboos or to a lack of familiarity with debt instruments—that they will run up debt that they won’t be able repay. Alleviating this concern could unlock great growth opportunities.
  • Consumers are highly loyal to brands, but they are also budget and quality conscious. Most Bangladeshi consumers—more than 80 percent in the case of durables—cite brand as a top factor that influences their buying decisions. These consumers work within a budget, and price is often cited as a second priority over quality. Far fewer Bangladeshis than consumers in Southeast Asian emerging markets say that price discounts sway their decisions.
  • Consumers increasingly use the mobile Internet. Forty-one percent of Bangladeshi consumers surveyed—and 68 percent of MAC consumers—own Internet-enabled smartphones. Currently, most transactions are in cash, but the popularity of smartphones suggests that more consumers will be making the leap to mobile payment, creating an opportunity for reaching households through wireless mobile services. Eighty-one percent of consumers said that they trust what they read online, and 66 percent search for product information online.
Although these findings suggest that tremendous growth opportunities will unfold over the coming decade, companies must approach this market with a sophisticated understanding of the Bangladeshi consumer. They should also address the constraints that prevent consumers from acting on their strong desire to purchase brands and should introduce products that meet household budgets. Companies can expand their reach through different retail channels and in more locations.

For the next few years, companies should focus on ramping up their operations to meet growing demand from MAC households in Dhaka, Chittagong, and a handful of other cities. But at the same time, they should begin laying the groundwork for a broader expansion as the MAC population continues to grow and as buying power spreads swiftly throughout the country.

The strong brand consciousness of Bangladeshi consumers suggests that the companies that can now establish themselves as trustworthy, build market share, and develop a reputation for delivering good quality will be those that reap the biggest rewards in what promises to be one of world’s next big growth markets.

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

Author: Zarif Munir, Olivier Muehlstein, and Vivek Nauhbar are writers at BCG Perspectives.


Cool I guess , but will that old hag live for that long though :undecided: to ensure political stability ?
 
Cool I guess , but will that old hag live for that long though :undecided: to ensure political stability ?

We need to find another old hag - pronto (JK). :-)

Looks like one of the little Mujib-lings (Hasina's daughter Putul maybe) in place for now...hope she likes dirty politics and can control the goonda cadres.

iu


Now watch all the Bhakt fans come running with praises of "Naree Shakti"... 8-)
 
We need to find another old hag - pronto (JK). :-)

Looks like one of the little Mujib-lings (Hasina's daughter Putul maybe) in place for now...hope she likes dirty politics and can control the goonda cadres.

iu


Now watch all the Bhakt fans come running with praises of "Naree Shakti"... 8-)



Putul is not cut out for the top job... Nor is Sajib.. it's going to be Obaidul Quader.
 
Putul is not cut out for the top job... Nor is Sajib.. it's going to be Obaidul Quader.

New Cally ! Royal District in Charge again. :lol:

Shobtey Khamosh Hoi Ja !!

Paye Fori Muf Cha !!

Obaidul Quader the womanizer.


In any case - I agree he can probably control the cadres a lot better than any woman.
 
We need to find another old hag - pronto (JK). :-)

Looks like one of the little Mujib-lings (Hasina's daughter Putul maybe) in place for now...hope she likes dirty politics and can control the goonda cadres.

iu


Now watch all the Bhakt fans come running with praises of "Naree Shakti"... 8-)

Sike the next ruler of Bangladesh is probably @DalalErMaNodi :sarcastic:
 
Agargaon Metro Rail Station being built. Old Tejgaon Airport and Parade grounds (as well as aviation museum) can be seen in the drone shots.

 

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