Dhaka: The government of Bangladesh has embarked on a transformative journey aimed at shaping the nation into a cost-effective, sustainable, innovative, intelligent, and knowledge-based “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041.

This endeavor involves eight strategic initiatives designed to enhance the ICT sector’s contribution to the GDP, expand digital services, and foster innovation across various sectors.

These initiatives include boosting the ICT sector’s GDP contribution to 20 percent by 2041, digitizing all government services by the same year for improved accessibility and efficiency, and increasing ICT exports to USD 5 billion while creating 3 million ICT-related jobs by 2025.

Additionally, efforts are underway to establish innovation hubs in universities, cultivate a robust startup ecosystem, and develop specialized labs focusing on cutting-edge technologies like Robotics, AI, IoT, Blockchain, etc.

Progress has been made in decreasing unemployment rates and providing employment opportunities in IT-related fields.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has highlighted the decline in unemployment to three percent, attributing it to initiatives such as the Skills for Employment Improvement Program which has trained over 600,000 individuals.

Successful initiatives have already facilitated employment for about 2 million people, with plans to convert over 60,000 youths into IT professionals by 2025.

Looking ahead, the government’s “Smart Bangladesh: ICT 2041 Master Plan” aims to guide the nation’s development through pillars focusing on Smart Citizen, Smart Government, Smart Economy, and Smart Society.

These initiatives underscore the government’s commitment to leveraging digital technology and innovation for significant economic transformation and enhanced global competitiveness by 2041.