Published: 12:00 AM, 11 March 2017
Govt-IBM to launch global entrepreneur program in BD
The government and IBM recently announced a collaboration to launch the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP) for Startups. The program will aid startups and entrepreneurs to harness the power of IBM Cloud, and Watson APIs on Bluemix.
Prior to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing, Officials from ICT Division and IBM took part to a meeting led by ICT State Minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Chairman and CEO of IBM Asia Pacific, Randy Walker.
IMB representative said that the startup ecosystem in Bangladesh has grown over the last five years. With the tremendous growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector and a push from the government, the startups are now getting many platforms to showcase their innovation.
Palak said that the government of Bangladesh has been working for last eight years for stimulating innovation and creating a startup ecosystem through some initiatives. He said, "To cope up with ever-changing technological trends, ICT Division is now putting its concentration on cognitive technologies."
Through IBM's global program, the startups will get further boost to their ideas and qualifying startups will receive up to USD $1000 worth of credits every month for a year to put towards IBM Cloud usage, giving them the instant infrastructure needed to quickly launch their businesses and focus resources on coding, building, scaling and bringing innovations to market.
The program will offer startups invaluable and in-depth connections into IBM's enterprise client base, many of whom consistently look to the startup community for new approaches to industry challenges. By going through additional questions and approvals, some of the start-ups can also be eligible for USD $10000/month on IBM Cloud for a year.
ICT Division officials sensitize the IBM team that Bangladesh has achieved towering progress in the ICT sector over the past 8 years with some noteworthy attempts.
Along with these activities, Bangladesh government will promote the Global Entrepreneurs Program by allowing sufficient rooms for the Bangladeshi startups as a consequence of Startups Bangladesh. To accelerate the innovation culture in Bangladesh, government has undertaken a pioneering initiative titled Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA). Through this initiative, they will assist, cooperate and support their laudable innovations and successful startups.
In this connection, the collaboration between ICT Division of Bangladesh Government and IBM regarding the Global Entrepreneur Program certainly would be a capstone step for our startups and innovation. We look forward to IBM supporting the startup ecosystem by providing the much needed mentorship to leverage new age technologies like cloud and cognitive, he said.
Karan Bajwa, Managing Director of IBM India-South Asia said that their collaboration with the Bangladesh government to introduce the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Startups is an important step to provide them with a comprehensive and strong network of resources to drive innovation.
"IBM has witnessed significant success in the India market with our Global Entrepreneur Program initiative and already work with over 1000 Indian startups across HealthTech, Fintech, EduTech, and Smarter Cities to enable them to work with next-gen technologies like Cloud and Cognitive."
Prior to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing, Officials from ICT Division and IBM took part to a meeting led by ICT State Minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Chairman and CEO of IBM Asia Pacific, Randy Walker.
IMB representative said that the startup ecosystem in Bangladesh has grown over the last five years. With the tremendous growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector and a push from the government, the startups are now getting many platforms to showcase their innovation.
Palak said that the government of Bangladesh has been working for last eight years for stimulating innovation and creating a startup ecosystem through some initiatives. He said, "To cope up with ever-changing technological trends, ICT Division is now putting its concentration on cognitive technologies."
Through IBM's global program, the startups will get further boost to their ideas and qualifying startups will receive up to USD $1000 worth of credits every month for a year to put towards IBM Cloud usage, giving them the instant infrastructure needed to quickly launch their businesses and focus resources on coding, building, scaling and bringing innovations to market.
The program will offer startups invaluable and in-depth connections into IBM's enterprise client base, many of whom consistently look to the startup community for new approaches to industry challenges. By going through additional questions and approvals, some of the start-ups can also be eligible for USD $10000/month on IBM Cloud for a year.
ICT Division officials sensitize the IBM team that Bangladesh has achieved towering progress in the ICT sector over the past 8 years with some noteworthy attempts.
Along with these activities, Bangladesh government will promote the Global Entrepreneurs Program by allowing sufficient rooms for the Bangladeshi startups as a consequence of Startups Bangladesh. To accelerate the innovation culture in Bangladesh, government has undertaken a pioneering initiative titled Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA). Through this initiative, they will assist, cooperate and support their laudable innovations and successful startups.
In this connection, the collaboration between ICT Division of Bangladesh Government and IBM regarding the Global Entrepreneur Program certainly would be a capstone step for our startups and innovation. We look forward to IBM supporting the startup ecosystem by providing the much needed mentorship to leverage new age technologies like cloud and cognitive, he said.
Karan Bajwa, Managing Director of IBM India-South Asia said that their collaboration with the Bangladesh government to introduce the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Startups is an important step to provide them with a comprehensive and strong network of resources to drive innovation.
"IBM has witnessed significant success in the India market with our Global Entrepreneur Program initiative and already work with over 1000 Indian startups across HealthTech, Fintech, EduTech, and Smarter Cities to enable them to work with next-gen technologies like Cloud and Cognitive."
