IT and IT Enabled Service (ITeS) Sector in Bangladesh: Current Status and Future Potentials

Abstract

AbstractThe development of the Information Technology (IT) and ITeS (Information Technology enabled services) sector is crucial for achieving the digital transformation of the economy consistent with high-growth trajectories. Developing countries like Bangladesh have a comparative advantage in developing the ICT sector. This sector requires trained human capital and less sophisticated technologies that these countries have in abundance. Two factors, such as the phenomenal growth of the mobile phone service and the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative of the government, have been instrumental to the current development of the IT and ITeS industry. The IT industry has been growing steadily in terms of both numbers of firms and sales revenue with the government’s sizeable investments in ICT infrastructure. However, the development of the IT industry, which is important for the overall digital transformation of the economy, is still at its nascent stage. The sector needs proper support and guidance to undertake productivity-enhancing innovations to capture a segment of global IT outsourcing/offshore industry services.