Dhaka, 31 July 2017: The government in collaboration with US based global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) today launched Strategic CEO Outreach Programme to enhance investment and create employment opportunities in the ICT sector.

While inaugurating the programme at a local hotel on Monday (31 July) State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said Bangladesh, the surging consumer market with having fastest growing Middle to Affluent Class (MAC) population, would be the gateway to the digital world. 

“Bangladesh’s workforce to support the growing global IT industry- Internet of Things (IoT), analytics, social media, cloud, mobile technologies makes the country rightly placed to be the gateway to the Digital Bangladesh,” he said.   

ICT Secretary Subir Kishore Chowdhury, Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Swapan Kumar Sarker, LICT Project Director Md. Rezaul Karim, Global Chairman of BCG Som Mittal and representatives from National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank (BB), Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), IT industries and business organizations attended the function. 

The ICT State Minister said Bangladesh’s giant talent pool of more than 450 thousand tertiary graduates annually and 100 million workforce can help achieve the Digital Bangladesh vision developed respectively by dreamer and architect of honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

“Our progressive policy enablers such as tax exemption till 2024 for all IT/ITES firms establishes Bangladesh as low cost destination and rapid infrastructure development in the form of Hi-Tech Parks, Software Technology Parks, wider broadband network access as well as 4 times electricity generation make Bangladesh a destination for investment in IT sector,” Palak said.

He called upon the relevant stakeholders to work together with LICT and BCG to develop the ICT export sector.

Subir Kishore Chowdhury said the business development activity and matchmaking programme among IT companies of local and foreign under COP will help bring investment and create employment opportunities.

The entire activities under COP would contribute to investment and generate revenue in the ICT sector, he said.

A discussion titled: “Shifting Gears: Accelerating Bangladesh’s ICT Growth Cycle” was organized jointly by LICT Project and BCG to mark the launch CEO Outreach Programme.

Two power points – one by BCG Partner and Managing Director Kuala Lumpur chapter Zarif Munir and other one by BCG New Delhi Director BiKash Jain – presented at the function which was moderated by LICT Component Team Leader Sami Ahmed.

It was informed that World Bank financed Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment and Governance (LICT) Project of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under ICT Division has appointed BCG to work for international business-to-business (B2B) development and matchmaking programme among IT firms and CEO’s.