The government’s Digital Bangladesh manifesto has paid great dividends for the country, transforming, in less than a decade, Bangladesh’s technological landscape into something that resembles the current global standards.
One of the biggest ways this focus on technology has affected Bangladesh is by arming our entrepreneurs, both new and old, with the digital infrastructure necessary for their growth. And while this growth has been unprecedented, especially in the preceding decade, clearly there are many elements that are holding our entrepreneurs back from reaching their true potential.
According to Asian Development Outlook’s recently published Global Index of Digital Entrepreneurship Systems -- an index of the digital initiatives of 113 countries -- Bangladesh ranked at the 96th place with a score of 12.5 points. The index measures how conducive an economy’s environment is to facilitate effective digital entrepreneurship through a number of indicators such as legal framework, taxation, market conditions, institutional infrastructure, networking and support, and others.
Given just how much good our entrepreneurs have done for the nation, it is a shame that they are as held back as they are still. Entrepreneurship is what drives a country forward, but the reality is that our entrepreneurs cannot succeed all on their own -- the young, enterprising minds of Bangladesh need a supportive environment.
While this is but one index that shows just how much Bangladesh needs to improve its digital entrepreneurship front, it becomes incredibly obvious that there is still a long way for us to go. Even though Digital Bangladesh has made a meaningful difference, our bureaucracy is still reliant on age-old analogue systems to get things done.
It’s just not enough for the government to provide our entrepreneurs with funding: They require the infrastructure, digital and otherwise necessary to operate and expand their reach; and to do that means to embrace the future, embrace new technologies, and embrace the fresh ideas of young entrepreneurs.