Sajeeb Wazed wants Bangladeshi IT experts to invent new technology

Sajeeb Wazed Joy has urged the IT experts of Bangladesh to invent new technology in the light of the fourth industrial revolution or 4IR instead of copying others.

The prime minister’s ICT adviser was speaking at the inauguration of the Fourth Business Process Outsourcing Summit in Dhaka on Sunday.

“No country had a strategy to digitise themselves; some of them have done it organically. Each country has its own problems and resources,” he said, calling the experts for playing the role of instructors to use the resources of Bangladesh in the country’s own ways. 

“I urge you all to invent something new, look for new technologies,” he said. 

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak compared the Business Process Outsourcing or BPO sectors of India and the Philippines to that of Bangladesh as he spoke in the occasion.

“Today, India is earning $100 billion in the BPO sector; around 1 million young men in the Philippines are earning $300 million. In Bangladesh, at least 50,000 of the youth are also earning $300 million. So we can work to reach any goal the honourable adviser sets for us,” he said.

Joy then urged everyone not to engage in any “unequal competition” with the neighbouring countries.

“They are leading the global market in the outsourcing sector. We can’t fight them now. This is a big challenge for us. I believe we don’t need to do this. Our BPO industry does not need to confront the challenge. We don’t need to copy them,” he said.

“I feel proud of the young men and women who work in the BPO sector. These smart men and women are building their future based on their merit. They are not waiting for government jobs or in the private sector. Rather, they are creating a new field of jobs,” he added.

The youth will become the country’s driving force in the technology sector, believes the prime minister’s adviser.

“My dream is to see the young men and women from Bangladesh working in the high-tech sector. They will not just take part in the fourth industrial revolution, but lead it,” he said. 

Post, Telecommunication and IT Minister Mustafa Jabbar urged the commercial service sector in the country to adopt BPO.

“Our domestic banking, telecom and other commercial sectors and other commercial institutes are not using BPO though it is available. I believe our BPO sector is capable to provide the service,” he said.

The BPO sector should also look beyond the domestic market, he said.

Bangladesh Association of Call Centre and Outsourcing (BACCO) organised the Fourth BPO Summit in association with the ICT Division.

The other organisers are Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), Bangladesh Women in Technology (BWIT), ISP Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) and Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association (BMPIA).

ICT Secretary NM Zeaul Alam, Post and Telecom Secretary Ashoke Kumar Biswas, BTRC Chairman Jahurul Haque, High-Tech Park Managing Director Hosne Ara Begum and BACCO President Wahid Sharif also attended the inaugural session.