Asian business leaders optimistic about Bangladesh’s growth
They spoke at a Leadership Conclave Session organised by JCI Bangladesh in collaboration with Merchant Bay
Asian business leaders on Saturday said they expect rapid growth of Bangladesh's economy in the coming decade and emphasised the importance of using tech in business.
They also said Bangladesh is in a good spot for start-up businesses.
They spoke at a virtual Leadership Conclave Session, organised by JCI Bangladesh in collaboration with Merchant Bay on the third day of Digital Trade Week, read a press release.
The session was attended by Andrew Baisley, managing director of Tech in Asia; Anothai Wattayakorn, vice president of Dell EMC (Asia Emerging Markets); Adnan Imtiaz Halim, CEO of Sheba Platform Limited; and Maliha M Qadir, founder and managing director of Shohoz, the press release added.
Speakers at the webinar focused on the role of industry leaders in the expansion and development of digital trade.
Andrew Baisley of Tech in Asia Studios said South-East Asia is going to be the growth story of the next decade.
"Bangladesh has a population two thirds the size of Indonesia's and a median age of only 28 years. The median age in both the USA and China is 38 years. [For Bangladesh] this means more malleable workers in the economy and this also drives a sense of optimism that fuels the fire of innovation and growth," he said.
Mentioning Bangladesh is in a good spot in terms of start-up innovation, he said, "Annual GDP growth is one of highest in Bangladesh. It's easy to build a business when the economy around is growing."
Anothai Wattayakorn of Dell EMC (Asia Emerging Markets) said, "Two things are important and need to be implemented to sustain business momentum in this pandemic situation – operating business activities through technology and innovation, and adaptation of the digital mindset."
Adnan Imtiaz Halim, CEO, Sheba Platform Limited said, "In Bangladesh we have millions of small businesses. Out of that only 0.5% are digitally enabled, while 99.5% are still offline. This is a huge business scope."
"In the Covid-19 time, we have seen a decline in service business, but in the MSME sector, we have seen huge growth. Everyone is trying to adopt technology now and wants to be digitalised, because they believe their way of traditional business will not work."
Maliha M Quadir, founder of Shohoz said, "Understanding the big picture, speaking to your customers, being the customer yourself, understanding the product, pointing out the rolling out timing, and observing feedback are the important components to consider while developing a product for the digital market."