Promoting the IT sector
Friday, 21 March 2008
THE importance of the Information Technology (IT) has risen to such a level that it has now become the pre-condition of development in any society globally. So, it is no more a matter of choice whether one should go all out for the development of the IT sector or not. The awareness about this basic fact of life in the modern times is also nothing new in Bangladesh. The successive governments were never short of promises to develop this sector of the economy to an enviable level. But notwithstanding all the pledges, goodwill and enthusiasm about the development of the Information Technology (IT) sector, it has not grown to the desired level as yet. The natural question that comes to mind is why Bangladesh has again failed to make any meaningful progress in this all-important sector which can be likened to the nervous system of any modern economy and industry.
What surprises the well-meaning is Bangladesh is no stranger to the idea of IT revolution. It has been part of the interest and concern of the scientific community and the cognoscenti in this part of the world since when IT became the craze in the West. What is more, Bangladesh has been using computers in some of its research organisations and banks since the 1970s. One may also recall the surge of interest in learning programming language of computer at that time. There was again a fresh spurt of enthusiasm with the introduction of personal computers and the Internet. Many even saw a great potential in the youths of the country who are renowned for their talent internationally. But nothing out of the ordinary has come about so far. Meanwhile, many late entrants in this field have outpaced Bangladesh not only in the use of IT in every sphere of their economies, they are also earning huge amounts of foreign currency through exporting software as well as various other kinds of IT products and services.
To all appearances, we have again fallen behind the time. To compensate for the time already wasted, Bangladesh has to move very fast and make the most of any opportunity spotted within reach. All the arguments in support of the IT sector's desired growth aside, one cannot lose sight of the basic fact that like any other sectors of the economy, IT's growth is also contingent upon investment and entrepreneurship. Bangladesh is already in possession of necessary human resources to start in big way, even if we are a bit late in the race. So, what is necessary at the moment is a fresh flow of investment in IT from both the public and the private sectors.
It is worthwhile to mention that the entrepreneurs in the IT sector may take the opportunity of the fund amounting Taka 1.0 billion created by the Bangladesh Bank (BB)in the style of entrepreneurs, especially for the promotion of IT in the country. Any IT entrepreneur looking for fund may approach the various commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) through which the BB is channelling the money. The arrangement for obtaining the BB assistance is 51 per cent of the equity against the loans ranging from Tk 5.0 to 50 million to be provided to the party seeking the fund, while the rest 49 per cent would be provided by the bank. While the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) of IT may take hold of the opportunity provided by the BB, the government needs also to take a more aggressive move to woo foreign direct investments (FDI)s in the sector. For to make up for the lost time, the government and all the stakeholders need to be more proactive and generous about investment in IT.
What surprises the well-meaning is Bangladesh is no stranger to the idea of IT revolution. It has been part of the interest and concern of the scientific community and the cognoscenti in this part of the world since when IT became the craze in the West. What is more, Bangladesh has been using computers in some of its research organisations and banks since the 1970s. One may also recall the surge of interest in learning programming language of computer at that time. There was again a fresh spurt of enthusiasm with the introduction of personal computers and the Internet. Many even saw a great potential in the youths of the country who are renowned for their talent internationally. But nothing out of the ordinary has come about so far. Meanwhile, many late entrants in this field have outpaced Bangladesh not only in the use of IT in every sphere of their economies, they are also earning huge amounts of foreign currency through exporting software as well as various other kinds of IT products and services.
To all appearances, we have again fallen behind the time. To compensate for the time already wasted, Bangladesh has to move very fast and make the most of any opportunity spotted within reach. All the arguments in support of the IT sector's desired growth aside, one cannot lose sight of the basic fact that like any other sectors of the economy, IT's growth is also contingent upon investment and entrepreneurship. Bangladesh is already in possession of necessary human resources to start in big way, even if we are a bit late in the race. So, what is necessary at the moment is a fresh flow of investment in IT from both the public and the private sectors.
It is worthwhile to mention that the entrepreneurs in the IT sector may take the opportunity of the fund amounting Taka 1.0 billion created by the Bangladesh Bank (BB)in the style of entrepreneurs, especially for the promotion of IT in the country. Any IT entrepreneur looking for fund may approach the various commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) through which the BB is channelling the money. The arrangement for obtaining the BB assistance is 51 per cent of the equity against the loans ranging from Tk 5.0 to 50 million to be provided to the party seeking the fund, while the rest 49 per cent would be provided by the bank. While the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) of IT may take hold of the opportunity provided by the BB, the government needs also to take a more aggressive move to woo foreign direct investments (FDI)s in the sector. For to make up for the lost time, the government and all the stakeholders need to be more proactive and generous about investment in IT.