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The rapid growth in internet connectivity coupled with some supporting measures for digital entrepreneurs in the last couple of years has made Bangladesh a potential player on digital platforms globally.
One surprising outcome is that Bangladesh is now the second largest supplier of online labour in the world, with a 16 per cent share of the global online workforce.
Over 70 million workers are registered with these digital platforms across the world.
Recently, the number of online workers from Bangladesh has increased on creative and multimedia platforms
Researchers unveiled the development at a virtual dialogue on ‘Digital Platform Economy in Bangladesh’ this morning (Monday) jointly organised by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Bangladesh Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).
Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD, and Mr Felix Kolbitz, resident representative of FES Bangladesh office, delivered the introductory remarks at the dialogue with Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD, in the chair.
“The government must act urgently and prioritise the digital platform economy in its policy agenda so that Bangladesh does not fall behind other countries during this time of the fourth industrial revolution,” said Syed Yusuf Saadat, a senior research associate of CPD.
“Business opportunities are also increasing in this digital platform economy, which has come to the forefront during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr Saadat continued while presenting the keynote paper titled ‘Digital Platform Economy in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges.’
The keynote paper, based on an exploratory study of the platform economy in the context of Bangladesh, was prepared by CPD. The working paper of this study is available at https://cpd.org.bd/digital-platform-economy-in-bangladesh/.
According to the paper, online payment in Bangladesh increased from Tk 1.68 billion in 2016 to Tk 19.78 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach Tk 40 billion thanks to the surge in online transaction during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Saadat also mentioned that currently there are 2,000 website-based entrepreneurs and up to 50,000 Facebook-centric entrepreneurs in the country and around 500,000 jobs are likely to be created through digital platforms in the next one year.
He, however, said: “Although lots of mobile applications are coming into the market, the policies related to the monetisation of mobile applications still does not exist.”
“If the vast young population of Bangladesh could be properly trained and equipped with market-relevant skills, then they could reap tremendous benefits through the digital platform economy,” he further said.
In this connection, the paper outlined a set of recommendations including formulation of a five-year national digital platform economy development plan.
The paper stressed on “empowering individuals with market-relevant skills, especially technical skills and English language skills, through specialised training, so that they can participate in and benefit from the digital platform economy.”