It is extremely encouraging to see that Bangladesh is being recognized for its start-up culture and commitment to innovation, with the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries looking at Dhaka as a possible regional hub for innovation and serving all LDCs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Furthermore, an initiative in conjunction with UNDP and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is being launched to seek entrepreneurs to find innovative solutions for SDG-related complex development challenges, where in the case of Bangladesh, start-ups will work on products and services in the field of financial inclusion.
These are important and timely developments -- not only has Bangladesh always been a model for financial inclusion with its work in micro-credit and micro-finance, but with the lion’s share of its economy driven by SMEs within the informal economy, the time has never been more appropriate to explore the avenues of financial inclusion for those within the informal economy, so that they can receive the required financial assistance to contribute in a meaningful way to the economy.
This initiative, it goes without saying, will go a long way towards empowering Bangladesh’s budding start-up culture; active start-ups rose to over 2,500 from less than 300 in the last five years in the country, and meaningful projects such as this will only encourage more and more entrepreneurs to enter the fray, and further expand the start-up scene.
For Bangladesh to take the next step in its development journey, attain middle-income status, and maintain it, it cannot do so without encouraging and fostering a culture of innovation. To that end, it appears that we are on the right track.