The Daily Star ICT Awards 2022
Bangladesh has seen significant growth in its ICT sector in recent decades, thanks to the efforts of its IT professionals and entrepreneurs, backed by supportive policies. There are now nearly 2,000 IT companies and numerous professionals working in the sector, providing local and international services through their innovation and skill. To highlight the importance of ICT in nation-building and foster innovation among IT talent and businesses, The Daily Star has been presenting ICT Awards since 2016 to recognize exceptional IT entrepreneurs.
In 2022, six exceptional individuals in the ICT sector received The Daily Star ICT Awards for their contributions to the sector and society’s development.
Sadia Haque, CEO and co-founder of ShareTrip Limited
DIGITAL COMMERCE OF THE YEAR 2022
Winner: ShareTrip Limited
For those planning a journey, finding the perfect travel packages to visit top destinations is a top priority. ShareTrip is here to assist travelers in this endeavor. Its innovative app offers a comprehensive range of travel services, enabling travelers to easily book flights, hotels, and find the ideal holiday packages anywhere in the world.
ShareTrip’s B2B portal caters to the corporate travel industry, and the company asserts that it holds a 12% share of the overall travel market. With the support of Startup Bangladesh, a government-owned venture, ShareTrip predicts a 2.5-fold growth by the end of 2022.
Travel Booking Bangladesh (TBBD) started its operations in 2014. After five years of successful growth, the company underwent a rebranding effort in 2019 and became known as ShareTrip. The new name reflected the company’s mission to offer a comprehensive, technology-driven travel experience for its customers.
Since its humble beginnings with just three employees, ShareTrip has flourished into a thriving business with a workforce of over 180 people located in Dhaka and other cities throughout Bangladesh.
At present, the company boasts a user base of over 2.4 million.
Hosne Ara Jasmine, senior vice president of BJIT Group
ICT SOLUTION PROVIDER OF THE YEAR 2022 (INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOCUS)
Winner: BJIT Group
The origins of BJIT Limited date back to 2001 when it was established as a software solution provider. The company was founded by JM Shwakat Akbar, who pursued his education in Japan on a scholarship and later made the move there in his twenties.
Today, BJIT is recognized globally as an award-winning IT company that provides top-notch IT solutions in areas such as outsourcing, remote development, and comprehensive project management.
BJIT is on a path of success as it partners with well-known companies such as Sony, BMW, Qualcomm, Kyocera, and NTT Docomo. The company is dedicated to providing superior IT services and creating job opportunities for hundreds of local graduates.
The company’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, as Clutch, a top US IT review platform, awarded BJIT a 5-star rating for its exceptional delivery of top-notch offshore software products to clients around the world.
Fahad Ifaz, co-founder and CEO of iFarmer,
ICT STARTUP OF THE YEAR 2022
Winner: iFarmer
iFarmer is a comprehensive agriculture platform designed to cater to the needs of small-scale farmers. It provides a complete solution by connecting farmers with retail and institutional funding sources, as well as allowing them to obtain quality agricultural inputs through partnerships with agri-input suppliers and retailers.
The company iFarmer, established in January 2019, has been successful in improving market access for farmers through its aggregation of products from smallholder farmers and sale to various buyers such as institutional buyers, retailers, and wholesale markets. To date, the company has impacted 2.6 crore smallholder farmers in Bangladesh.
Additionally, iFarmer has received a significant boost in funding through the acquisition of $2.1 million in equity investment and a $500,000 grant from the United Nations.
Azmal Haque Azim, director of Digicon Technologies Limited
ICT SOLUTION PROVIDER OF THE YEAR 2022 (LOCAL MARKET FOCUS)
Winner: Digicon Technologies Limited
For over 11 years, Digicon Technologies Ltd, a prominent outsourcing organization, has been operating in Bangladesh.
Providing a range of services such as customer interaction, back-office support, skill-building workshops, and IT solutions, the company has established itself as one of the top business process outsourcing companies in the country.
It caters to organizations in the consumer electronics, banking and finance, healthcare, telecommunication, and automobile industries, both in the public and private sector.
Some of its notable clients include the digital monitoring system of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, the national emergency services, the land ministry’s contact center services, Sonali Bank, the Directorate General of Family Planning, and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.
The company is also the recipient of the Grameenphone’s “The Service Excellence Award 2020”.
iFarmer’s revenue rose to $47 million in 2022 from $30,000 in 2019. It is now operating in 22 districts through a “Phygital” model.
Late Luna Shamsuddoha
ICT PIONEER
Winner: Late Luna Shamsuddoha
Luna, a highly successful businesswoman, held the position of chairperson at Dohatec New Media, a prominent IT and software company that has been offering innovative solutions to enterprise clients across North America, Asia, and Europe for more than two decades.With the support of a dedicated group of engineering experts and professionals, Luna founded Dohatec New Media in 1992.
In collaboration with Dohatec, the ex-director of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services played a crucial role in establishing Bangladesh’s digital procurement system for the public sector.
In the past, Dohatec was instrumental in the creation of an voter enrolment platform between 2007 and 2008.
Dohatec has made significant contributions to the e-governance sector, including the creation of multiple e-governance projects and a transparent electronic procurement system for the government.
She was also appointed as the first female chairperson of state-owned Janata Bank in 2018 as she had sound knowledge in finance and economics.
Moynul Haque Siddiqui, chairman of Fiber@Home
ICT BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR 2022
Winner: Moynul Haque Siddiqui, chairman, Fiber@Home
Moynul Haque Siddiqui, a renowned entrepreneur in ICT and textile industries, graduated from Dhaka University’s business faculty in 1986.
He established Fiber@Home, a transmission network operator offering services to telcos, cable TV, and ISPs nationwide. Since 2009, Siddiqui has served as both the managing director and chairman of Fiber@Home.
In addition to his role at Fiber@Home, he is the founder of BDCOM Online Ltd, which is listed on both the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange.
He also established Norban Communications Ltd, an IT and telecommunications company.
He is a founder director of Asia Pacific General Insurance Company Limited, which is also a listed company.
“ICT has empowered us with improved communication and collaboration. Our productivity and efficiency in various industries have gone up.”
Selim RF Hussain
CEO & Managing Director, BRAC Bank Limited
“Globally, the most wonderful successes are now coming from the ICT and digital sector. ICT is also a great success story for Bangladesh and it could have been much greater.”
Mahfuz Anam, editor & publisher, The Daily Star
“A lot of initiatives were taken to develop the ICT sector but Bangladesh could not reach its destination.”
Md Sabur Khan, chairman, Daffodil International University
“Achieving IT export target of $5 billion is challenging, but we will be able to pull off the target if local companies get adequate support.”
Russell T. Ahmed, president, BASIS
