Bangladesh now thinks to launch Satellite-2

Telecommunications and Information Technology (ICT) Minister Mustafa Jabbar has said that Bangladesh has made vast strides in the sector, and is now considering the launch of another satellite.

"The country has had significant success in the ICT sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She had said that we should prepare for the construction of the Bangabandhu Satellite-2 after the launch of Bangabandhu Sattelite-1. We need skilled manpower to achieve the target of a Digital Bangladesh, and to compete internationally,” he said.  

The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at the ceremony for the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) National ICT awards 2018, organized by BASIS at the Institution of Diploma Engineers in the Dhaka on Thursday. The event was sponsored by UCB.

 total 76 projects were awarded in over 30 categories at the event for their outstanding contribution to the ICT sector, and 33 champions were declared.

Of the 33 winners, 32 will participate at the APICTA Awards-2018, to be held in Guangzhou, China from October 9-13.

The ICT minister further said: “We succeeded at the APICTA Awards held in Taiwan last year. We would like to win APICTA in China as well. We are going to participate there with a team of about 70 members. Knowledge is most powerful than wealth, so we have to compete using skilled manpower. The next generation must come forward for this.”

Addressing the award ceremony as special guest, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said: “About 2 million jobs will be created in the ICT sector by 2021. We are happy that we have a huge population who are still you young. We will have to train them and make them skilled.”

"Our earnings from the ICT sector has already crossed $800 million. We hope that it will cross $5 billion dollars in the next three years. A revolution is taking place in the ICT sector, thanks to policy support from the government," he added.

Praising the efforts of BASIS to accelerate the growth if Bangladesh’s ICT Sector, Palak said: “BASIS has organized this grand award for the second time in a row. They have gone through rigorous processes to gather judges and scrutinize projects from all over Bangladesh. The awardees should feel very proud, as this is the most prestigious ICT award in Bangladesh.”

Delivering the opening speech at the awards, convener and BASIS Director Didarul Alam said: “The objective of the BASIS National ICT Awards is to provide recognition for the outstanding achievements of individuals, students, entrepreneurs, SMEs and organizations with operations in Bangladesh, who have contributed to the development of initiatives for a Digital Bangladesh, or in building applications and services for the benefit of Bangladesh.”

BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir said: “In the BASIS National ICT Awards, innovative ICT projects of Bangladesh are recognized. Through a rigorous judging process, the best projects are selected. These projects show the high potential of Bangladesh’s ICT sector.” 

Sham Shundor Shikdar, secretary of the Posts and Telecommunication Department, and Zuena Aziz, secretary of the ICT Division, were also present at the ceremony, among others.

The winners of the BASIS National ICT awards-2018 

1.    Business Services (HC-BS)- Finance & Accounting Solutions (Fintech)- Bdtax Technology Ltd.

2.    Business Services (HC-BS)- ICT Services Solutions - MySoft Limited        

3.    Business Services (HC-BS)- Marketing Solutions - Chobir Baksho

4.    Business Services (HC-BS)- Professional Services (Legal, HR etc.) Solutions -ADDIE Soft Ltd. 

5.    Business Services (HC-BS)- Security Solutions - REVE Systems Ltd.    

6.    Banking, Insurance & Finance - Leadsoft Bangladesh Ltd.    

7.    Consumer (HC-C)- Digital marketing/Advertising - Misfit Technologies    

8.    CONSUMER (HC-C)- Games (Students only) - Pabna University of Science & Technology    

9.    Consumer (HC-C)- Media & Entertainment - Grameenphone

10.    Consumer (HC-C)- Real Estate - The Databiz Software Ltd    

11.    Consumer (HC-C)- Retail and Distribution - The Databiz Software Ltd    

12.    Consumer (HC-C)- Tourism & Hospitality - Go Zayaan Ltd

13.    Inclusion And Community Services (HC-ICS)- Community Services - Institute of Informatics and Development (IID)    

14.    Inclusion And Community Services (HC-ICS)- LEADS Corporation Limited    

15.    Inclusion And Community Services (HC-ICS)- Health and Wellbeing - AeroTEK

16.    Inclusion And Community Services (HC-ICS)- Indigenous Service - SoftBD Ltd.

17.    Inclusion And Community Services (HC-ICS)- Regional and Remote Services - Radisson Digital Technologies Limited

18.    Inclusion And Community Services (HC-ICS)- Sustainability & Environment - ME SOLshare Ltd.    

19.    Industrial (HC-I)- Agriculture - ACI Agribusiness    

20.    Industrial (HC-I)- Engineering & Construction - North South University

21.    Industrial (HC-I)- Manufacturing - Idea 3D Solutions    

22.    Industrial (HC-I)- Resources, Energy & Utilities - EasySense

23.    Industrial (HC-I)- Supply Chain Logistics - Newgen Technology Limited    

24.    Industrial (HC-I)- Transport - Zantrik Limited    

25.    Public Sector And Government (HC-PSG)- Digital Government - Tech Terrain IT.

26.    Public Sector And Government (HC-PSG)- Government & Citizen Services - MIECLab    

27.    Student Categories (HC-S)- Junior Student (to year 9) - Bogra Zilla School, Bogra

28.    Student Categories (HC-S)- Senior Student (Last 3 years Before Uni) - Prixomic

29.    Student Categories (HC-S)- Tertiary Student Project (Undergraduate) - University of Information Technology and Sciences    

30.    Technology Category- Big Data Analytics (CT-BDA) - Pridesys IT Ltd

31.    Technology Category- Internet Of Things (CT-IOT) - DataSoft Systems Bangladesh Limited    

32.    Cross Category- Research And Development (CC-RD) - Raise IT Solutions Ltd.

33.    Cross Category- Start Up (CC-SU) - Sindabad.com Limited

Of them 32 teams have been selected for APICTA Awards-2018, to be held on October 9-13 in Guangzhou, China.