Reaching out to Bangladeshis, everywhere
In an article written for the June 2008 IT Outsourcing seminar, organised by the New Jersey (USA) chapter of the Association of American Bangladeshi Engineers and Architects (AABEA-NJ), I have written about the promise and pitfalls of the IT industry in Bangladesh and what the country could do to move forward and join the ranks of the regional IT powerhouses as an outsourcing destination of choice.
One of the 'what to dos' had to do with mobilising and leveraging the social networking power of the Bangladeshi diaspora. There are more than three million Bangladeshis working overseas. Another two million people of Bangladeshi origin are living as immigrants permanently settled in other countries of the world. This five-million-strong Bangladeshi diaspora could be the best brand ambassadors for the country of origin, provided, firstly that they are willing to be so and secondly that the country offers them things to root about.
The first point, though appears so self-evidently obvious, however, cannot be taken for granted. Many persons of Bangladesh origin, or PBO for short, have been so benumbed by political upheavals of the last three decades and the continued negative portrayal of our land in foreign media that they are in a state of denial about their country or origin. So much so some pretend not to be from here originally.
All of this is very sad but true. It would not have been a problem if the pretension ended there. What has been obvious to me, in my frequent interactions with PBO in high professional stature over the last three decades, is that in case of many, the denial becomes the truth and they really appear to believe the sporadic negative images of the country that are served in isolation from reality in most foreign media.
In recent years though many expatriates have resettled back home and there appears to be a gradual warming up of PBO to their original home. That's highly encouraging. Moreover we have today a number of national celebrities who have of late become global icons and that is something to cheer about in any high and mighty company. Given this and the fact that the New England region of the USA is taking serious interest in outsourcing IT services to the country, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the Bangladesh Asssociation for Software and Information Services (BASIS) have jointly organised participation in the New York Outsource World 2008 with a country pavilion for the first time.
Twenty-five software and IT-enabled services companies, including 16 exhibitors, will be displaying their wares at the mega IT outsourcing event scheduled for October 14-16. The software and IT services industry expects high-level government representation at the event as well.
Now is the chance for the Bangladeshi expatriate community and the PBO in USA, especially in the New England region, to come forward and lend a helping hand in making this event a resounding success for the nation. The expatriates could make positive contributions in several ways. They could spread the word around that Bangladesh is a serious destination for software and ITES outsourcing jobs, they could invite all their friends working in IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) to visit the Bangladesh pavilion at the Outsource World New York, they could arrange post-exhibition meetings for the BASIS representatives to project facts and potentials of the local IT industry, they could encourage the chief information officers (CIO) at their places of work to consider Bangladesh as an alternative destination. There are endless ways the Bangladeshi diaspora could use to help make the event worthwhile for the country.
With the outsourced service prices rising steeply in recent months in the traditional strongholds of IT outsourcing countries and Bangladesh being on top of the list of next wave of potential IT outsourcing countries in terms of population and IT strengths, now is the crunch time for us to put our best foot forward and help the outsourced-service buyers in USA and elsewhere mitigate their budget pressures and concentration risks (a.k.a. risk of putting all your eggs in one basket).
What is in it for the Bangladeshi expatriates? For a starter, with better knowledge and dissemination of Bangladeshi IT capabilities, the expatriates will be able to hold their own when other South Asians gloat in their IT exploits at a party! But, seriously folks, this would certainly give you the opportunity to engage with your home country with professional and national pride wrapped in one.
The Bangladesh contingent will also participate in the AABEA bi-annual convention being held on October 25-26 in Dallas and eagerly looks forward to meeting and engaging with the PBO from New York, Dallas and all over, in October.
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