Some IT firms see good prospects

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A number of IT companies in the country are now opting for the production of animation programmes, which are in high demand in the local and international markets.

The international animation market is estimated to be around US$ 1.0 trillion a year mainly because of the rise in the cartoon-based TV channels worldwide.

Local IT entrepreneurs said that companies from North America and Europe are now outsourcing their animation programmes, a process of making films in which puppets or drawings appear to move, from developing nations. Only India is eying export animation programmes valued at around $42 billion by 2009, according to an Indian newspaper.

Local entrepreneurs said Bangladesh need more entrepreneurs in the field as the country has the potential to earn a substantial amount of foreign exchange each year.

"International buyers will rush to our country, when we will have hundreds of studios each having the capacity of more than 20 minutes," said Sarwar Alam, managing director of Greenfield, a local 2-D animation studio, told the FE.

International buyers prefer the studios having the capacity of more than 20 minutes each.

So far around six large studios have been set up in the Dhaka and all are working for local and international buyers, sources said.