State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak urged Japanese investors to come forward to invest in Bangladesh’s IT sector, highlighting the government’s plan to develop the country’s emerging entrepreneurial culture and the resulting huge development of Bangladesh’s IT sector in the last few years.
Addressing Japanese investors, he said there are more than 2500 active entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. In addition, 200 new initiatives are being added to this eco-system every year. There are some excellent startups. Young people are leading the way. Therefore, Japanese investors can come forward to advance their initiative. Japan has been a tested and trusted friend of Bangladesh for decades since independence.
The state minister made the call while speaking as the chief guest at a webinar titled ‘Opportunities to invest in startups in Bangladesh’ on Tuesday.
He said that, in the meantime, the activities of the Support Center of the Bangladesh Embassy in Japan have given hope to the entrepreneurs. I am happy to know that the Embassies of Bangladesh and Japan have also taken several initiatives in partnership. Personally, I have participated in some such initiatives. I believe this initiative will have a substantial impact on bilateral trade and investment. So far, eight MoUs have been signed at the government level and 11 at the private level for the Japan-Bangladesh strategic partnership. At the same time, BASIS and JISA have signed a mutual cooperation agreement in the FIELD of INFORMATION technology including cyber security to enrich the local ICT sector.
200 people from Bangladesh and Japan participated in the webinar jointly organized by Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo and Unido ITPO Tokyo Limited in collaboration with Japan External Trade Organization-JETRO.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmed delivered the welcome speech at the webinar. Sami Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO of Startup Bangladesh Limited, presented an information-based demonstration on ‘Investment Opportunities in Startups in Bangladesh’. He highlighted the opportunities offered for investment in startups in Bangladesh and the potential of the sector.
Bangladeshi startup-account (fintech) and ShareTrip (traveltech) also highlighted their innovative initiatives, its impact and potential. On the contrary, Yuki Adachi, owner of Japanese company Cipher Core Co. Ltd., expressed his experience of investing in Bangladesh.
Yuji Ando, Country Representative of JETRO, made a presentation on investment opportunities for Japanese companies in Bangladesh. Among others, Fumio Adachi, head of UNIDO ITPO, spoke.