A four-day 16th BASIS SoftExpo kicked off yesterday at the International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital to showcase local software innovations and explore global markets.
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) is organizing the exposition which will continue until Sunday.
Speakers at the opening session said the industry was eyeing to earn about $5 billion from software export and create millions of jobs by 2021.
They said the Information and Communication Technology sector created around 10 lakh jobs in the last ten years, while another similar number of employment opportunities are expected to be created by next year.
“SoftExpo is the platform to showcase the capability of local software companies in the international arena,” said Syed Almas Kabir, president of the BASIS.
President Md Abdul Hamid inaugurated the event, BASIS SoftExpo, where about 300 exhibitors are showcasing their products in presence of top ICT companies, business personalities, key policymakers, industry leaders and other stakeholders.
In the opening ceremony President Abdul Hamid said the government should create scopes for the software firms to work in different government projects.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun and ICT Division Secretary N M Zeaul Alam also spoke on the occasion.
The expo has 10 individual zones, such as Industry 4.0 Zone and Experience Zone.
The other zones include VAT zone, digital education, fintech, software, mobile innovation, digital commerce and IT-enabled services, and business process outsourcing or BPO zone.
There will also be business to business (B2B) match making sessions between local and foreign companies, including ones from Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands.
A “BASIS Top Ten Digital-Ready Company” awards will be given to recognize 10 local firms, linked with local software companies in different capacities.
Besides, at the exposition around 30 seminars and sessions will be held where innovative ideas and experiences will be shared by over 100 national and international speakers.
An ICT career camp will also be held with over 2,000 students from more than 45 universities showcasing their innovative projects.
Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited is the event’s sponsor.
BASIS Senior Vice President Farhana A Rahman said this event would focus on creating more collaborative relationships at national and international levels.
