<i>Lottery for them, brisk business for some</i>

Photo: STAR

Ahsan Rashid is immensely excited about his brand new cellular phone. It smells of sweet success.
The sleek handset loaded with all the handy features would have otherwise intimated Rashid for its huge price tag, but his recent successful business endeavour brought it within the realm of affordability.
Ahsan Rashid, an undergraduate student who does tutoring in his spare time, found a way of making easy money by submitting online DV (Diversity Immigrant Visa) applications on his personal computer at home.
"Since I have a broadband Internet connection at home, a lot of my friends and their family members sought my help to submit their DV applications. So I figured, why not make some money at the same time," said Rashid.
The U.S. Department of State started accepting electronic applications for the DV 2009 Lottery from October 3 and it will continue till noon (Eastern Standard Time) on December 2, 2007.
Since the electronic applications can be sent only via the Internet and the majority of the people in the country lack Internet access, they are paying cyber cafés or individuals with Internet service to have their applications sent.
The timing was just right for Rashid and there is barely any cyber café in Rashid's neighbourhood at Khilgaon Tilpapara. He made small handouts and posted those all over the area.
Phone calls started to pour in and Rashid found himself submitting 7 to 10 DV applications via the Internet everyday.
"I borrowed a scanner and a printer from my cousin for the job. With a minimal expense, I made around Tk 5,000 within the first couple weeks," said Rashid adding that he was Tk 13,000 richer a month and a half later.
Rashid is not the only one to cash in on this opportunity. With the odds on their sides, a good number of people made a quick buck by submitting online DV applications for others.
"It is not too difficult to operate this type of business at home. Your house does not even have to be near the main road. You can do it in almost any residential area," said Shah Alamgir, an engineering student from Green Road who also joined in the business of submitting DV applications for others.
"You can find clients within your own family or friends. You can also make advertisement flyers with your address and contact number on them so that people can come to you," added Alamgir.
"Although computer and Internet use have thrived over the years, majority of the people remained technologically impaired. So basically anyone with a personal computer and an Internet connection can do this business with a minimal effort and investment," said Jahangir Alam, owner of a cyber café at Banani Bazar.
Alam's cyber café charges Tk 70 to Tk 100 for the submission of each DV application.
"We charge Tk 70 for single applicants and Tk 100 for married couples. We charge higher for married applicants because we need to scan multiple photographs and it takes a lot more time to prepare their application," said Alam.
The fee however could be as low as Tk 50 if the applicant provides a digital photograph in a portable memory media, he said adding, "Overall, it is a pretty lucrative business that requires a minimal amount of resource and time."
Arifur Rahman, manager of Take-2 Computers on New Elephant Road, said this sort of seasonal business is not new in the country.
"Apart from DV applications, a good number of people these days earn money by helping others communicate through email, collect educational data, fill out or download admission forms, view exam results and even seek jobs online," said Arifur Rahman.
"However, it would be unwise for budding entrepreneurs to rent a space and concentrate on just one single form of the business. They should provide other popular services such as computer composing, printing, scanning, CD writing, etc. These things are really essential these days and one can earn a decent amount of money by providing these services if they are good at it," he added.