The Europe-Bangladesh Technology Summit 2014 began in Hanover of Germany on March 10 to explore business opportunities in the European market for the country’s IT firms, said the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services on Thursday.
The Hanover summit ends today and the next gathering will take place in Copenhagen of Denmark in 17-18 March and the third event will take place in Oslo of Norway in March 20-21. Around 20 local IT firms are attending the three showcase programmes and business networking sessions.
‘This time we shift our focus from the American market to Europe as we sense a great business opportunities there,’ BASIS president Shameem Ahsan said at a news briefing at Westin Hotel in Dhaka.
He said BASIS explored the Silicon Valley of the United States last year with a success which inspired the local IT firms to eye business opportunities in Europe.
‘Denmark, Netherlands and Norway as well as the Grameenphone, Agrani Bank and Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh are our partners in this venture,’ he said.
BASIS director and Europe-Bangladesh Technology Summit convener Fahim Mashroor said Bangladesh needed global attention to showcase its potential.
‘We have a vision of One Bangladesh and to achieve the $1-billion export target from the IT sector. To reach that goal we need global investors to identify Bangladesh as a lucrative investment destination,’ he said.
‘The summit will conclude in Dhaka where investors from
Europe will attend the final event from April 1-4,’ he said.
Danish ambassador Hanne Fugl Eskjer said such summit would be important for the Bangladesh IT sector.
‘Denmark has always been a key partner of BASIS and the Bangladesh government in the IT sector. We believe Bangladesh got the potential to elevate its IT industry globally,’ she said.
Grameenphone chief executive officer Vivek Sood said the initiative by BASIS was similar to what the GP was focusing at the moment.
‘The Grameenphone has launched its campaign of internet for all to empower the society. We are glad to be a partner of BASIS in such an event which will help the Bangladesh IT industry reach global market,’ he said.
CBI’s deputy managing director under Norwegian foreign ministry Dick De Man said Bangladesh entrepreneurs were interested to exchange knowledge with the businesses across the globe.
Nederland embassy’s first secretary of political and economic affairs Henrick van Asch van Wijck, Norway embassy Innovation programme manager Sayeed Muntasir Bayzid and BASIS secretary general Russell T Ahmed also spoke at the news conference.
-With New Age input
