World Bank praises bKash’s role in wage digitisation in garment sector

Executive directors of the World Bank Group have expressed their satisfaction over the ongoing process of wage digitisation in the apparel sector of Bangladesh and its impact on women's empowerment.

They visited the Newage Group’s Ashulia garment factory on Monday to observe how the bKash payroll digitisation is positively impacting workers’ life and increasing their productivity, bKask said in a statement.

They explored existing facilities for workers, bKash awareness session in factories on the secure utilisation of mobile wallet and also interacted with the workers. There was an open dialogue where the executive directors exchanged their views with the high officials of bKash and Newage Group.

The objectives of their visit were to learn about the impact of World Bank Group’s activities in Bangladesh, understand the challenges of a lower middle-income country that has maintained solid economic growth over the years and exchange opinions with authorities, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders on partnerships. Both bKash and Newage Group are in partnership with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

bKash CEO Kamal Quadir shed light on the overall payment system in Bangladesh and explained how wage digitisation is taking place by bKash. “There is a gender gap in access to financial services in Bangladesh and services like bKash are making an impact in narrowing such gap. Given the economic significance of the ready-made garment sector, which is dominated by female workers, digitising wage payments through MFS can have a significant impact on women’s financial inclusion.”

Patrizio Pagano, executive director of the World Bank Group, said: “We have seen massive changes in the RMG sector of Bangladesh. Previously, factories used to pay through cash or banks, which was troublesome and time consuming. The wage digitisation is benefitting both the workers and the factory owners. Because of the largest distribution network of bKash, Bangladeshi RMG factories are becoming more dynamic with its wage digitisation solution.”

Vice Chairman of Newage Group Asif Ibrahim spoke about the garment industry in Bangladesh and emphasised wage digitisation as it decreases administration cost, attracts international buyers and improves production