‘Open Refactory’ the first One BIG Winner
After the singing of national anthem, new performance came titled 'Chiranjeeb Bangabandhu' (Eternal Bangabandhu). Presenters had some tidbits, video documentary, dance and songs were performed between the speeches of the guests. This is how the first BIG 2021 came to an end. The winners of the Bangabandhu Innovation Grant (BIG) 2021 were announced in the Grand Finale at the Bangladesh Film Archive Auditorium in Agargaon on Saturday, October 30.
Seven thousand applications were received from 142 countries in this competition called Bangabandhu Innovation Grant- BIG, a global organization for startups. ‘Open Refactory’ has been the best of the bests in this competition organized for the first time. The team's two innovators - Munawar Hafiz and Mushfiqur Manzur - worked to diagnose and fix software bugs.
In the hope of taking Bangladesh forward in the global context, they have accepted a check for a grant of one lakh US dollars.
As per the Independence Day date, 26 startups and 10 portfolio enterprises that were placed in the final round of the reality show were awarded. A grant check of one million taka was awarded. 10 foreign startups have received the same amount of grants from online affiliates.
State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak presided over the function while Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was the chief guest.
Joining online, he said the government has allocated BDT 100 crore in the current budget to help young innovators. Today's young inventors will play an important role in the country's economy.
Money is not a problem, he said. We will move forward in the right direction by transforming the problem into a possibility. I hope that the winning startups in this competition will build big companies like Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba.
In his speech, Palak said Bangladesh is now ranked 32nd in the world as a result of inclusive development through technology. This is how we will build a smart Bangladesh within 2041. Therefore, this goal will be achieved through the innovation of own technology as advised by Advisor Sajib Wazed Joy. Already 2500 inventors have been created in the country. A startup policy will be formulated shortly to empower them.
Palak announced that there would be a BIG competition every year. He said the Idea project was launched in 2017 to build an ecosystem in information technology. This is the first time that Bangabandhu Innovation Grant 2021 has been organized from this project. Such events will be held every year to encourage young startups and implement their ideas.
Idea Project Director Md. Abdur Rakib delivered a welcome speech on the occasion. After that Walton Hi-Tech Managing Director Golam Morshed, Head of Portfolio of Startup Bangladesh Hasan A. Arif, Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mannan, NM Zeaul Alam, Senior Secretary, ICT Department spoke in the event.
Various performances were presented by Junaid Rabbani and Azra Mahmood. BIG-2021 ended with the melody of Anushka Shankar, daughter of Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar, one of the organizers of 'Concert for Bangladesh'.
