[🇧🇩] ICT Industry in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology_in_Bangladesh

Information technology in Bangladesh

The information technology sector in Bangladesh had its beginnings in nuclear research during the 1960s. Over the next few decades, computer use increased at large Bangladeshi organizations, mostly with IBM mainframe computers. However, the sector only started to get substantial attention during the 1990s. Today the sector is still in a nascent stage, though it is showing potential for advancement. Nonetheless, Bangladesh IT/ITES industry has fared comparatively well by achieving US$1.3 billion export earnings in FY 2020-21 and holding US$1.4 billion equivalent market share in the local market contributing 0.76 per cent to the GDP creating more than 1 million employment opportunities so far amid Covid-19 havoc that suddenly shattered businesses last year. Consequently, riding on the successes of IT/ITES sector-supported export-led industries as well as pro-private sector and conducive policies pursued by Bangladesh Government, the country is now poised to become a Developing Country by 2026, as recommended by the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP), besides, Bangladesh now seeks to transform itself into a knowledge-based and 4IR-driven cashless economy, aiming to become a developed country by 2041. The Bangladesh government has formulated a draft 'Made in Bangladesh– ICT Industry Strategy' aimed at turning Bangladesh into an ICT manufacturing hub, enhancing export of local products, attracting foreign investment and creating employment proposing to implement in three Notif-info terms— short term from 2021 to 2023, mid-term from 2021 to 2028 and long term from 2021 to 2031 for implementation of the 65 action plans.

History

The first computer in East Pakistan was an IBM mainframe 1620 series, installed in 1964 at the Dhaka center of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (later the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission). Computer use increased in the following years, especially after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971; more-advanced IT equipment began to be set up in different educational, research and financial institutions. In 1979, a computer centre, later renamed Department of Computer Science & Engineering, was established at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); the centre has been playing a pivotal role in Bangladeshi IT education since its inception. Through the introduction of personal computers, the use of computers witnessed a rapid increase in the late 1980s. In 1985, succeeding several individual initiatives, the first Bengali script in computers was invented, paving the way for more intense computer activities. In 1995, use of the Internet began and locally made software started to be exported.

In 1983, the Ministry of Science and Technology established a National Computer Committee to create the required policies. The committee was also responsible to carry out programs to expand and promote the efficacious use of the sector. In 1988, the committee was replaced by the National Computer Board. In 1990, the ministry reformed the board and reconstituted it as the Bangladesh Computer Council to monitor computer- and IT-related works in the country.

ICT industry

The ICT industry is a relatively new sector in the country's economy. Though it is yet to make tangible contributions in the national economy, it is an important growth industry. The Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) was established in 1997 as the national trade body for software and IT service industry. Starting with only 17 member companies, by 2009 membership had grown to 326. In a study among Asian countries by Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2007–08, Bangladesh was ranked first in software and IT services competitiveness and third in competencies, after India and China. The World Bank, in a study conducted in 2008, projected triple digit growth for Bangladesh in IT services and software exports. Bangladesh was also listed as one of the top 30 Countries for Offshore Services in 2010–2011 by Gartner. The Internet penetration has also grown to 21.27 percent in 2012, up from 3.2 percent three years prior.

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector of the country has maintained 57.21 percent export growth on an average over the last nine years since 2009. In the fiscal year (FY) 2016–17, Bangladesh ICT sector registered export earnings worth US$0.8 billion from the global market and US$1.54 billion from the domestic market span – thereby making around one percent contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). The ICT sector has created around three hundred thousand job opportunities so far. ICT exports of the country are also projected to reach US$5 billion by 2025.

As the Internet usage increases, the government expects the IT sector to add 7.28 percent to GDP growth by 2021.

 

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[Bilal9]

The fastest-growing countries for software development, according to GitHub​

New data shows a rising tide of coders in Bangladesh and Nigeria.​

Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images
By RUSSELL BRANDOM
5 FEBRUARY 2024

• GitHub has released new data tracking developer accounts by country.
• Year over year, the data shows Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Pakistan had the fastest-growing developer population.

For developers around the world, a busy GitHub profile is one of the best ways to land a programming job. The platform is one of the largest hubs for software development globally, split between public repositories (or repos) used for open-source collaboration and closed repos open only to project participants.

But while GitHub has long been used to assess individual programmers, the platform’s data also shows the developer contributions of every country on Earth, painting an interesting picture of which nations are rising the fastest. GitHub releases the data quarterly as part of a project it calls the Innovation Graph, with the most recent batch of data released on January 18.

For some countries, the data shows a surprising jump in the number of active developers over just the past year. In the three months leading up to September 2023, 945,696 Bangladeshi developers made code contributions to public GitHub repos. Over the same period in 2022, only 568,145 developers in the country made contributions, making for a year-over-year jump of nearly two-thirds. It’s the largest proportional increase for any country in the world.

Like any data set, it comes with limitations: This data only measures public repos, which make up less than half the overall activity on the platform. But GitHub’s own analysts told Rest of World the split is fairly consistent across countries, and private activity tends to rise and fall with public activity.
Even GitHub itself is only a fraction of the software development happening in a given country. But the data shows a rising tide of programming in countries long ignored by much of the Western tech industry.


To find the fastest-growing countries, Rest of World compared developer figures from the most recent three-month period (covering September through December 2023) to the same period the previous year. We also disqualified countries with fewer than 500,000 active developer accounts in the most recent quarter, removing outliers like Vatican City or the Mariana Islands that put up big percentages with only negligible gains in absolute terms.

It’s a different view from the absolute figures published by GitHub, which show the U.S. in the lead with 20.2 million developers, followed by India (13.3 million), China (6.9 million), and Brazil (5.4 million). These are the high-GDP nations that typically dominate the tech industry, and the figures dwarf smaller countries like Bangladesh and Nigeria, both of which represent fewer than 1 million accounts.

The harder question is what it means for countries to suddenly see a surge of GitHub contributors. A surging population of public contributors might suggest a rising tech sector, with more developers resulting in more contributions. But it might also represent a decline in actual work, as developers turn to unpaid work on public repos after paid work disappears.

Mike Linksvayer, GitHub’s vice president of developer policy, told Rest of World it was hard to say what the numbers meant for tech workers in a given country. “Is more public developer activity a leading or trailing indicator for other kinds of development?” he said, reframing the question. “It might be leading for some and trailing for others.”

Still, the countries highlighted by GitHub’s data show many other signs of growing pools of tech talent. In Bangladesh, a steady rise in GDP has also seen millions of young people gaining access to digital tools for the first time, fueling the country’s IT sector and boosting companies like bKash that can build infrastructure for the transition. As one ed-tech founder told Rest of World, “We’ve got 180 million people and 90 million people below the age of 25.”

In Nigeria, high-flying startups like Opay, Jumia, and Flutterwave have produced their own wave of software development projects, funded by both venture capital interest and government investment. In that context, it’s no surprise that platforms like GitHub would see a surge of Nigerian developers.
“The potential is amazing,” a local investor told Rest of World in December. “We have young people that can be trained. We have real problems that can be addressed using digital technology innovation.”

 

[Bilal9]

Grameenphone launches 'Super Core' data center in Bangladesh​

12 months after construction commenced

February 07, 2024 By Georgia Butler

Bangladeshi telco Grameenphone has launched its first 'Super Core' data center in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

– Getty Images

The Grameenphone (GP) data center is described as a Tier III standard facility (though not listed as Uptime certified), and has an IT capacity of 4MW.

Construction started in January 2023 on the Super Core Data Center which is a joint effort between GP and ZTE. It was officially launched on January 30, 2024.

The facility is supposedly the largest owned by a mobile network operator in the country.

Yasir Azman, CEO of GP, said: "This facility not only confirms our pledge to lead the way in technological innovations but also demonstrates our devotion to putting our customers first in every aspect of our work, guaranteeing a future of technological progress and reliability in delivering a superior customer experience."

"The SCDC is like the body's heart. It needs to be safe and healthy to support the business," said ZTE managing director of engineering service Ma Liang.

"The data center uses the best and most innovative technology in the industry. It has multiple levels of protection to ensure its reliability. It will also be the first private sector Telco Data Center in Bangladesh to meet the Uptime Tier-III standard which follows the principles of saving energy and reducing emissions with a smart energy management system that makes it efficient and eco-friendly."

The data center uses NOVEC gas for auto fire suppression, and a monitoring system with intrusion detection capabilities to ensure security at the site.

GP is a joint venture between Norwegian telco Telenor and Grameen Telecom Corporation. Telenor owns a 55.8 percent share of the company, which has been operating in Bangladesh for 25 years. The company currently holds around a 46.3 percent revenue market share in the country, with 79 million subscribers as of 2022.

According to Data Center Journal, Bangladesh has 16 data centers in its capital city Dhaka.

Despite a fairly minimal colocation market in the country, there are local players such as Felicity IDC and Red.Digital, while the government operates an Uptime Tier IV-certified data center in the capital.

In February 2023, Indian data center firm Yotta Infrastructure announced plans to invest 20 billion Bangladeshi Taka ($190.5m) in developing a hyperscale data center park in Dhaka in the next four to six years. In September, Saudi firm DataVolt announced it was planning a campus in the country just outside the capital city for which it would invest around $100m.

 

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Video on Felicity Data Center

 

[Saif]

Software and ITES provider urge for extension of tax exemption until 2031

Software and IT Enabled Service (ITES) providers yesterday urged the government to extend the income tax exemption applicable to them by six years until 2031 in order to help the nation achieve its vision for a Smart Bangladesh by 2041.

www.thedailystar.net

Software and ITES provider urge for extension of tax exemption until 2031​

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for telecom and ICT, and Russell T Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, pose for photographs with ICT industry people at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the trade body in the capital yesterday. Photo: collected

Software and IT Enabled Service (ITES) providers yesterday urged the government to extend the income tax exemption applicable to them by six years until 2031 in order to help the nation achieve its vision for a Smart Bangladesh by 2041.

At present, the government offers tax breaks to software and ITES sector entrepreneurs.​

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But the privilege is going to expire on June 30 this year, Russell T Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), said during the national trade body's 25th-anniversary ceremony held at GreenVill Outdoors in Dhaka.

BASIS began its journey in 1998 with just 18 members. Today, it has nearly 2,500 members who play a role in the development of local software and IT services, expansion of access to international markets, and promotion of digital development.

Ahmed added that BASIS had made great strides towards social and economic development through technology-based innovation, making greater use of the benefits of the digital economy.

"ICT is the nucleus of the Smart Bangladesh vision. From agriculture, manufacturing, trading to education, all these sectors will have to implement ICT solutions to become smart within 2041," he said.

Ahmed said the current income tax exemption has been instrumental in propelling Bangladesh towards its digital aspirations.

"Exemption until 2031 would significantly facilitate the journey towards a Smart Bangladesh. Furthermore, offering tax incentives and streamlining the enlistment process for prominent IT enterprises in order to lure recent graduates would further incentivise growth and innovation in the sector," he said.

"The competitive edge of the ICT sector, unlike other industries, relies solely on human resources possessing global and future-oriented ICT skills," he stressed.

The BASIS president also said the establishment of an R&D and innovation fund is vital to transitioning from a knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) model to a product and service-oriented ICT model.

He also suggested a BASIS-led cross-country comparative study financed by government grants to assess the demand for ICT skills, and effective restructuring of the computer science education system.

"Re-evaluate and augment national ICT competencies administered by the National Skills Development Authority to align with dynamic industry requirements," Ahmed said.

BASIS said it was also targeting training initiatives, internship support, and dedicated grant funds to facilitate the transition of participants into industry-ready professionals.

Additionally, he sought the institution of a supplementary wage policy to incentivise greater female engagement in the ICT sector, alongside recommending the establishment of a dedicated grant fund to support micro and small ICT firms in recruiting fresh graduates.

"Through collaborative efforts and strategic initiatives, the nation is poised to embrace the boundless opportunities that lie ahead, ensuring a bright and prosperous future for generations to come," he said.

He said Bangladesh is embarking on a transformative journey and that the roadmap towards a Smart Bangladesh by 2041 encompasses multifaceted strategies to propel growth in the IT sector.

For example, the global export market for software and ITES is growing and is projected to register $600 billion by the end of the year. If only 3.4 percent can be captured by readying our human resources and private sector, then Bangladesh can earn more than $20 billion within a few years to come. This can be observed as a milestone achievement, especially when we are facing a crunch in our forex reserve.

Addressing this potential, to ensure our comprehensive growth in exports, the BASIS president suggested a framework termed "3 by 3".

"This approach involves conducting research to identify target markets and products, promoting products through marketing and sales efforts, and cultivating a skilled workforce to seize growth opportunities," he said.​