Bangladesh has been experiencing a digital transformation as well as sustained economic growth. Pockets of production are revolutionized by new technology; we are anticipating progress, but certainly not overnight. Against the backdrop of potential challenges, the overall impact of these new technologies will be determined by how well they are adopted, the extent they are adopted, and how indirect effects filter through the rest of the economy.
We hosted a webinar on ‘Launching of Strategy Primer: The Future of Digital in Bangladesh’ on Monday, April 5 2021, 7:30 pm (BST), where Dr Zulkarin Jahangir, Research Fellow & Abdullah Hasan Safir, Senior Research Associate, BIGD presented the Strategy Primer. Mr Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, Honourable State Minister, ICT Division was present as the Chief Guest, along with our Special Guest, Mr N M Zeaul Alam, Senior Secretary, ICT Division, and our Guest of Honour, Dr Stefan Dercon, Professor, Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and Development Policy Advisor to the Foreign Secretary, FCDO. Mr M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Former Cabinet Secretary, Government of Bangladesh and Senior Advisor, BIGD moderated the event, followed by closing remarks from Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BIGD.
As discussed in the webinar, the strategy primer provides concrete action plans for the next five years to realize this vision and also distributes shared responsibilities among different stakeholders within and outside the government. It also highlights the urgent need to improve the country’s current state of digital readiness by ensuring universal access to ICT infrastructure and investing in human capital development in light of the digital age. “The strategy primer rightly pointed out the challenges ahead of us for achieving a digital economy by 2041,” said State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, “and I hope that in partnership with academia such as BRAC University and University of Oxford, and with our industry stakeholders, we can work together to achieve our targets and visions.” Dr Imran Matin mentioned in his closing remarks about strong Digital Bangladesh vision, and how the Social Science perspective can be combined with technology and innovation to create opportunities for a transformative and inclusive Bangladesh. “BIGD pledges to support and empower the stakeholders to harness the wisdom and to embark on actionable research in the near future”.