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Published : 05 May 2025, 10:44 PM
The Bangladesh AI Summit, organised by the Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF), will be held at BRAC University on May 8.
A landmark initiative in the country’s digital transformation journey, the summit is a flagship initiative of the Bangladesh Innovation Conclave (BIC), the BBF said in a statement on Monday.
As Bangladesh positions itself to become a digitally advanced economy, the endeavour aims to harness the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business, governance, and societal development, the think tank added.
The conference, powered by AKIJ Resource & Mutual Trust Bank PLC and in collaboration with BRAC Business School, will bring together global and local industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to share insights and best practices; showcase groundbreaking AI applications; foster collaboration across sectors; and build a robust talent pipeline for AI in Bangladesh.
The initiative strives to generate greater awareness of AI's potential, stronger public-private-academic partnerships, with an expanded pool of AI-skilled professionals, and actionable policy insights to guide the development of a national AI strategy, the statement read.
Shariful Islam, founder and managing director of BBF and BIC, said: “Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the world around us. As Bangladesh strives to become a digitally advanced economy, the role of AI will be central to how we educate, govern, heal, farm, manufacture, and live.
“Through this summit, we will seek to explore how AI can unlock transformative change in our industries, enhance governance, improve lives, and build a more inclusive and ethical society.
We are also proud to initiate the AI Hackathon, a competition that has provided our brightest minds a platform to build solutions to some of our most pressing challenges.”
ICT Division Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury will inaugurate the summit and retired maj general Emdad ul Bari, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), will share his insights as the closing chief guest of the inaugural ceremony.
The summit will feature a dynamic agenda comprising four keynote sessions, two panel discussions, five insight sessions, two case studies, and a fireside chat.
Alongside the sessions, the summit will host five breakout sessions with industry experts to deepen discussions on AI integration in pivotal areas – manufacturing, education, agriculture, fintech and healthcare.
Pivotal topics to explore during the keynote sessions will include the future of AI in Bangladesh, the global AI shift and its implications for emerging economies, the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, and the democratisation of AI for societal advancement.
Other knowledge sessions will explore how AI can support national development through ethical policy-making and enhance access to financial services, the contrast between hype and reality in the local AI landscape, how AI is revolutionising agriculture through AgriTech solutions, the importance of making AI accessible for broader community impact, how businesses are rethinking processes and models using AI, and how ethically designed AI systems can contribute to a more just and inclusive world.
The summit, including the AI Hackathon Award Ceremony, will mark the successful conclusion of the AI Hackathon, another groundbreaking initiative of the BIC.
The award will be presented to six AI-based solutions featuring 6 critical sectors: city management, manufacturing, education, agriculture, fintech, and healthcare.
The AI Hackathon was launched on Mar 10 with the goal of developing AI-driven solutions for urban and sector-specific challenges in Bangladesh.
The competition, which attracted 177 team submissions from 70 organisations, shortlisted 31 teams on Apr 16.
The selected teams worked on their prototypes from Apr 17 to May 5, leading to a two-day boot camp and final showcase event on May 6–7 at BRAC University.
Throughout the boot camp, participants will receive mentoring from industry experts and ultimately pitch their solutions.
