BASIS launches seventh edition of outsourcing award

The seventh edition of BASIS Outsourcing Award was launched yesterday aiming at bringing more youths into freelancing and creating skilled manpower to achieve a $5 billion export target from software, IT-enabled services and digital devices by 2025.

The Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) is organising the event.

"The government has set a target of $5 billion in export revenue by 2025 from the software, ITES sector and digital devices," said Syed Almas Kabir, president of the BASIS, at a press conference at its office in Dhaka.

"For that we need skilled youth which is the main obstacle to increasing the export basket," he said.

"We need to further strengthen public-private initiatives to improve our skills to innovate new products and services in the expansion of the international market," he said.

He said the BASIS was working with the government to identify several new markets.

Cash incentives should be increased by 20 per cent for at least for the next three to five years, he said.

Currently, the government provides a 10 per cent cash incentive on the income earned in this sector.

The registration process of the BASIS Outsourcing Award 2021 will start from October 26.

Interested persons or organisations can register till November 11.

A total of 100 awards will be conferred through step-by-step screening by judges in two categories. There will be 20 awards at the institutional level and 80 at the individual level.

At the organisation level, there will be five awards in an outsourcing organisation category, five in a startup category and 10 in an export excellence category.

At the individual level, the award will be given to 64 individuals from 64 districts, six individuals in individual women's category, and 10 individuals in outsourcing professional category.

More than 300 companies are now exporting their IT/ITES in over 80 countries. "We want to recognise them through this award," said Rashad Kabir, convener of the award and managing director of Dream71 Bangladesh Ltd.

"This recognition aims to put a positive impact in the local market and it gives a message to the local private industry and government that our IT companies are now globally competent and ready to develop world class software solutions," he said.

"We also want to encourage women to focus on online outsourcing at home," said BASIS Senior Vice President Farhana A Rahman.

"One of the primary aims of the event is to make visible and recognise those individuals as well as organisations who are working from remote areas, highlighting their contribution to exports, and making individuals who are doing freelancing personally entrepreneurial by creating companies," she said.

"Besides, we want to stress on developing skills among youth as technology advances," she added.

Bank Asia Senior Executive Vice President Md Zia Arfin and BASIS Vice President (finance) Mushfiqur Rahman were present.