The ‘Uber saga’ in Dhaka

- August 13, 20170

Over the past ten months, ride-sharing app Uber has altered the way we think about commuting inside the city. Now, by simply downloading a free application in our phones, setting up an account and pressing a button, we can have a driver ready to pick us up in minutes and

THE ‘SILENT’ RISE OF INCOME TAX

- July 5, 2017July 5, 20170

When Finance Minister AMA Muhith in June 1 talked about tax measures in his budget speech in parliament, Wasim Hussain, a software engineer and one of the 12 lakh taxpayers of the country, felt something was wrong. Being a practitioner of computer science, Hussain is good with numbers, but he

TECH-FRIENDLY’ BUDGET- AN OUTCOME OF COMBINED EFFORT

- June 17, 2017June 19, 20170

If the phrase ‘Digital Bangladesh’ refers to a scenario where a Dhaka rickshaw-puller with $5 daily income maintains communication to his family in village through a mobile phone that he owns-then Bangladesh has already become ‘Digital’. But if the meaning of the phrase reflects a picture in which a significant part

MUSTAFA JABBAR TELLS FINTECH

Cover Story

- June 15, 2017June 19, 20170

The best outcome of this budget is obviously the protection that our local IT industry gets in terms of production-be it software or hardware. I would say this budget reflects the demand of the IT industry like no other budget. I remember the day August 6, 2015 when me and the

MY COMMENTS ON THE BUDGET 2017-18

- June 15, 2017June 19, 20170

Anis A. Khan Managing Director & CEO Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTB) 1) The budget is ambitious, especially the GDP growth rate of 7.4%. However, Bangladesh is taking great strides to become a middle income country and ambition is good. 2 The interest rate on National Savings Certificates should be decreased to

STARTUP STRUGGLES

- May 23, 2017May 23, 20170

The people who gathered at the grand ballroom of Dhaka’s Radisson hotel on a sunny morning of March 18, 2016 had a nomenclature of their own. A common person could have easily felt alienated as words like ‘VC’ (venture capitalist), ‘Fin Tech’ (Financial Technology), ‘B2B’ (Business to Business), and ‘Accelerator’ (a

The Challenges Ahead

- May 23, 2017May 23, 20170

Fintech startup companies are fast-growing financial technology firms embracing the new opportunities offered by technology and enjoying the profits from them. However, as large as the fintech opportunities are, they are also complex and have many pitfalls for even the most experienced entrepreneur. So considering the challenges comes first in

THE EVOLUTION OF ICT SECTOR IN BANGLADESH

- May 17, 2017May 23, 20170

In the last 3 years Bangladesh has seen a tremendous growth in the information technology (ICT) sector. It has a market of 160 million+ people, where consumer spending is around USD 130 billion+ growing at 6% annually. After Telco’s launched 3G services in 2013, internet penetration in Bangladesh grew by

Why ‘garage venture’ can’t flourish in Dhaka?

- May 17, 2017May 23, 20170

Information Technology (IT) companies, especially the startups in Bangladesh has an idealized picture of the ‘Silicon Valley’ in where a company can be started from nothing by anyone in a garage. This idealized picture is sketched based on the ideas that tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, Harley Davidson, HP, Mattel,

LEADERSHIP MATTERS

- April 13, 2017April 13, 20170

For a financial institution on the brink of collapse, revival is the hardest possible option as the cutthroat money market barely let any injured player to recuperate and come back. Unless, a true maestro takes charge… With the swings of his baton, all the dysfunctional organs start orchestrating in the same tune