Special panel to foster BPO

The government plans to form a high powered panel to help the business process outsourcing industry to flourish as part of efforts to earn $1 billion by 2021 from the sector.

The decision was taken in a meeting between Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar and other senior government officials earlier in the month.

The panel—which will remain under the ICT Division—will take care of the BPO sector and the government will give focus on the recommendations made by the panel, Jabbar told The Daily Star yesterday.

“We will sit with the industry stakeholders to finalise how the panel will work.”

Currently, around 40,000 people work in 100 companies in Bangladesh's BPO sector who annually earn $250 million.

The government hopes that the number of people working in the sector will hit 100,000 by 2021, the telecom minister said.

Wahidur Rahman Sharif, president of the Bangladesh Association of Call Centre and Outsourcing, said they were interested in working with the government for the sake of the BPO industry.

The idea of BPO business was first introduced in Bangladesh in 2008 when the country made only $4 million.

The telecom regulator has a total of 365 licensees and certified entities to do BPO business.

Moreover, there are 108 non-licensed entities who are working in the sector with the go-ahead certificates from the telecom watchdog.