Bridging digital divide
The Commonwealth Secretariat in association with Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), Bangladesh Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) and Digital Knowledge Foundation are currently implementing a pilot project to spread the blessing of ICT among rural people.
This initiative is part of the Commonwealth's Tk 20 million technical assistance. It basically integrates ICT into micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in rural areas. Under this project, four "spokes" have already been installed in Borgachi, Rajshahi, Tanore and Thakurgaon. These "spokes" are connected with a hub located in Dhaka.
Industries Adviser Geeteara Safiya Choudhury formally launched the project activities. She said, "In a country like Bangladesh there is a development divide between the rich and the poor, and the urban and rural. Innovative techniques using ICT-enabled services for MSMEs, especially in the rural areas, can bridge this divide by brining new economic activities and assisting with job creation efforts".
Ambassador Farooq Sobhan pointed out that "ICT is invaluable for education, business and national capacity building". About the pilot project he said, "It is promising to see various development partners with complementary skills come together on this project. The common objective in pooling our resources and expertise is to achieve a competitive and sustainable model for ICT-led enterprise development".
"This initiative has all the ingredients to develop new economic activities and employment generation in rural Bangladesh", Ram Venuprasad, adviser with Enterprise Development at Commonwealth Secretariat said on the occasion. "This project is being used as a model that can potentially be rolled out in other Commonwealth countries", he added.
This project has been conceived and developed through the outstanding efforts of Professor Arunachalam, a renowned person in the area of ICT for livelihoods. As a part of this project, nearly 120 women MSME operators have been trained using the expertise of BWCCI. One of the "spokes" established in Thakurgaon will focus exclusively on MSMEs operated by women.
Hub and spokes will disseminate information about day-to-day business activities, accurate pricing, weather forecasting, market information, financing for MSMEs and government applications, forms and policies. The focus sectors are MSMEs engaged in agro-processing and other livelihood activities. All content development has been in Bangla. The project also aims at facilitating at least 2800 MSMEs in rural areas in the next 12 months.
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