DHAKA, Feb 9, 2020 (BSS) – Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged the
Non-Residence Bangladeshis (NRBs) to launch their ‘startups’ business here
with their world standard skill as Bangladesh needs their support to realize
its visionary development goals.
“We look forward to our expatriate Bangladeshis and NRBs to come and have
their startups established in Bangladesh taking advantage to hugely
attractive government offers and facilities,” he said.
The foreign minister was speaking at the final Bangladesh round of “Startup
World Cup-2020” as the chief guest at a city hotel on Saturday night.
A startup is a young company founded by one or more entrepreneurs in order
to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market.
Foreign ministry, ICT division, Venture Capital and Private Equity
Association of Bangladesh (VCPEAB), International Finance Corporation (IFC)
and eGeneration organised the Startup World Cup-2020 to mark the beginning of
the countdown of Mujib Borsho.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh had set a target of having two million
ICT skilled persons, establishment of e-governance and earning a revenue of
five billion US dollars by 2021 and declared tax holiday till 2024, only one
percent import tax for materials of hardware industry and exceptional cash
incentive of 10 percent for ICT export to help achieve these targets.
“I hope that not only the local entrepreneurs, the foreign innovators will
also be greatly encouraged to take the rare advantages offered by the
government to launch their startups in Bangladesh,” Momen said.
Saying that most of the startups in the country are based on software
operating in digital environment, he urged the young innovators to venture
into social, economic, industrial and educational startups in addition to
predominantly software-based ones.
“I would urge you to come up with startups in the priority areas of
Bangladesh like poverty reduction, education, climate change and disaster
management, women empowerment, achievement of SDGs, migration and labour,
easing trade and commerce,” he said.
Private industry and investment adviser to the Prime Minister, state
minister of ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak and foreign secretary Masud Bin
Momen also spoke on the occasion.
Gaze technology has won the regional finale of the competition in
Bangladesh for their intelligent video analytics software platform. They will
go to the Silicon Valley in the USA to compete for the Champion title of
Startup World Cup-2020.
“AlterYouth” and “Truck Lagbe” came in first and second runner-up
respectively with Poshapets and Cookups coming fourth and fifth while all of
these companies will go to Silicon Valley through support of ICT division.