FE Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said Monday that a 'strong monitoring body' would be formed to supervise proper utilisation of the money allocated for the information technology sector under the Equity Entrepreneurship Fund (EEF).

"The role of this monitoring team will be to ensure that the EEF fund money allocated for the IT sector is spent in productive purposes and therefore, there will be no misuse of the fund," he said at a seminar organised on "The Making of Digital Bangladesh"- The Banking and Finance Perspective" in the city.

Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS); the representative body of the software companies in the country, organised the seminar.

A total of Tk 2.0 billion has been allocated for the IT sector under the EEF in this year's budget. At the same time, the management of this fund has been handed over from the central bank to the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB).

Explaining the move, the BB governor said: "we urgently feel that the one single body should not act as a regulator and simultaneously as an operator."

Reaffirming the necessity of IT enabled baking services, the Bangladesh Bank boss said that within a year, the whole central bank operation would be wholly automated; giving the financial regulatory body a new look.

Earlier, leaders of the IT sector visualised their target of bringing all the rural population under the IT enabled banking system by 2021 through internet banking and kiosks.

The BB governor said: "An inclusive IT sector development is required to eradicate the existing digital divide in the country."

"Speaking to the heads of other central banks around the world it appears to me that a great opportunity is ushering for Bangladesh in the coming days as there are signs of turnaround for the world economy from the present recession," he said, adding: "It is up to us to make the best use of that opportunity."

Speaking on the occasion, the ICB Managing Director Humayun Kabir said that a total of 10 proposals for various IT projects have been sanctioned out of 150 applications since his bank has taken over the management of the EEF fund for the IT sector.

Islam Sharif, Executive Director and CEO of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), stressed on having a skilled sales team within the IT firms for initiating better marketing strategies while underlining the need for merger as well as technology and idea sharing among the software companies.

Earlier in the seminar, speakers emphasised the need for introducing e-commerce sooner than later to assure better transaction online while giving a thrust on promoting the use of homegrown software in the local banking sector.

President of BASIS Habibullah N Karim and several leaders from the IT sector also spoke on the occasion.