PM urges youth to be entrepreneurs

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the country's youth force to become entrepreneurs and create employment opportunities using the information and communication technology (ICT).
"We don't want our youths to go here and there looking for jobs, rather they should become self-entrepreneurs, stand on their own feet and create jobs for others," the Prime Minister said while addressing the Digital Centre Entrepreneurs Conference in the city on Tuesday, report agencies.
Some 11,000 entrepreneurs from over 4,500 Digital Centres, previously known as Union Information and Service Centres (UISCs), across the country took part in the conference to celebrate the fourth founding anniversary of the Digital Centre programme.
The Prime Minister said the aim of the setting up of the UISCs is to make arrangements for every person to stand on their own feet. "It (UISCs' activities) won't remain limited to only Bangladesh as we have arranged training for the unemployed youths so that they can go abroad after getting training," the Prime Minister said.
Terming the Digital Centre Entrepreneurs as the 'Digital Sons' of the country, the Prime Minister urged them to devote themselves towards building 'Sonar Bangla' as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
"You must have self-confidence and self-dignity that you would build Bangladesh not relying on others," the Prime Minister added.
In this connection, Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the country's youth force could now take collateral-free loan up to Tk 0.10 million from 'Karmasangsthan Bank' and start their own business and the ceiling of loan would be raised to Tk 0.20 million in the future to create further scopes for self-employment.
Mentioning that now there are some ill-attempts to oust those entrepreneurs of the Digital Centres who were associated with that from the very beginning, Sheikh Hasina said these Digital Centre entrepreneurs would continue to hold their positions.
Noting that the countrywide internet speed is not up to the mark, the Prime Minister said her government has taken various steps in this connection and high-speed internet would be available in the future.
Mentioning that the Union Digital Centres have so far provided some 50 million services, Sheikh Hasina said some 70 million online birth registrations alongside registration of some 2.0 million men and women seeking to go abroad have been completed.
The Prime Minister said the birth registration would be done in the Digital Centres and suggested registering the deaths of people to keep the death records.
Highlighting various services from the Digital Centres including over some 200 e-services to rural people, Sheikh Hasina said some 4.0 million students are being imparted education through some 23,500 multimedia classrooms while multimedia classrooms would be set up in all schools across the country gradually.
Sheikh Hasina said Digital Centres are also offering outsourcing and training facilities for the youths through which they could attain more skills and raise their incomes.
The Prime Minister also renewed her pledge to build a hunger- and poverty-free mid-income country well before 2021 and a developed country by 2041.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, eminent ICT expert and PM's ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, State Minister for ICT Junaed Ahmed Palak and UNDP country director Pauline Tamesis spoke at the function as the special guests.