Export of digital device by 2021
Bangladesh will start digital device export within the next two years, said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, as the country looks to brandish its credentials in the field of engineering.
In 2016, the government brought down the tax on raw material and machinery equipment with the view to becoming a digital device exporting country from an importing one, he said.
He spoke at the country’s first-ever Digital Device and Innovation Expo, which kicked off yesterday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
The country is already getting benefit from the tax policy, with 10 companies now in the process of meeting the local demand, he said.
“We have companies like Walton and Symphony that are making quality products in the country. Mobile phone users are now using Bangladesh made Samsung phones, which is a huge shift,” Palak said, adding that Samsung announced that from 2020 it will not import any handsets to the country.
The three-day expo is jointly organised by the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Division, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) and Idea Project.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Mannan; ICT Secretary NM Zeaul Alom; AKM Rahmatullah, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on telecom and ICT division ministry; and Hosne Ara Begum managing director of the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, also spoke in the inaugural event.
The expo was categorised in eight different zones focusing on innovation, start-up and robotics.
In Made in Bangladesh zone, the local digital device manufacturers would showcase their products to local and international buyers.
The changing scenario of Bangladesh through innovation in the field of agriculture, Bangla language tools, disability-related devices, education and health would be showcased in the Innovation Zone managed by the government’s a2i project.
Start Up and the Robotics zone would focus on how the youth of the country are planning to commercialise their innovation and the future of the country’s robotic technology.
The expo also gave much focus to the Mars Registration Zone, as the government is planning to launch its Mars project by 2041.
