DHAKA, July  5, 2021 (BSS) – Speakers at a cybernetic dialogue today said the  rapid growth in internet connectivity along with some supporting measures for digital entrepreneurs in the last couple of years has made Bangladesh a potential player on digital platforms globally.  

“One surprising outcome is that Bangladesh   now becomes the second largest supplier of online labour in the world with  16 per cent share of the global online workforce” they observed .

The speakers said this in  a virtual dialogue on ‘Digital Platform Economy in Bangladesh which was jointly organised by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Bangladesh Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES),  said a press release.

Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD, and Mr Felix Kolbitz, resident representative of FES Bangladesh office, delivered the introductory remarks at the dialogue with Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD, in the chair.

 While presenting the keynote paper styled on ‘Digital Platform Economy in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges’ senior research fellow  of CPD Syed Yusuf Saadat said , “business opportunities are also  increasing in this digital platform economy, which has come to the forefront in  the Covid-19 pandemic”  .

He also mentioned that currently there are 2,000 website-based   and nearly 50,000 Facebook-centric entrepreneurs in the country and around 500,000 jobs are likely to be generated  through digital platforms in   next one year.

 “Although lots of mobile applications are coming into the market, the policies related to the monetization of mobile applications still does not exist.” he    said,

Saadat said if the vast young population of Bangladesh could be properly trained and equipped with market-relevant skills, then they could reap tremendous benefits through the digital platform economy .

The key note speaker in his  paper outlined a set of recommendations including formulation of a five-year national digital platform economy development plan.