Use tech to boost productivity, create jobs

[Sultan Mahmud Sujon]

More application-based startups can be a game changer for creating jobs for the unemployed and educated youth in Bangladesh, according to a top official of the United Nations.

“Technologies and ICT should not be used only for communications. They can be used to boost productivity, mainly for creating jobs for the youth,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Alisjahbana was in Dhaka last week to attend a three-day summit on inclusive financing and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. The International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh organised it in association with the finance ministry of Bangladesh and ESCAP.

During an interview with The Daily Star, the Indonesia-born UN official touched upon issues ranging from Bangladesh, regional and sub-regional trade to investment, connectivity and employment in the Asia and the Pacific.

She said startups can scale up businesses through apps even in the agriculture sector, but Bangladesh is yet to fully benefit from the use of technologies and apps.

“In Indonesia, the younger generation starts businesses using apps and they are performing well.”

Speaking about Bangladesh, she said the country is growing a lot, not just in terms of economic growth, but also in terms of various social indicators, such as social welfare, education, health, and basic services.

“There is a lot of progress,” said Alisjahbana, who served as co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation from 2012 to 2014 and was a former alternate governor of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

At the same time a lot remains to do, she said.

She said Bangladesh needs to go for planned urbanisation because the population is growing rapidly. This is also needed to save the environment and face the negative impacts of climate change.

She said Bangladesh has a lot of population -- 170 million -- and more importantly they are young.

“The population is an asset because the future of the country lies with the young generation. Bangladesh also needs to prepare through education and proper training, keeping in mind that their jobs in the future are also changing.”

Alisjahbana said more population with a handsome amount of income means there is a good domestic market and the market is growing a lot.

“Bangladesh also needs to diversify its exports as too much dependence on one or two products is not wise for any country.”

In order to harness more benefit from the potential regional trade blocs, Alisjahbana, a former professor of economics at Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia, suggested the nations in the Asia and the Pacific region take lessons from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The ASEAN is a strong platform and is a successful one as more than 60 percent foreign trade takes place between them with duty benefit.

“Taking lessons from the ASEAN, the Asia and the Pacific need to do more home works to remove non-tariff barriers in order to increase regional trade and improve connectivity.”

In South Asia, almost all countries, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan are growing economically.

“So, the nations of this sub-region need to harness the regional and sub-regional cooperation by improving trade facilitation and removing tariff and non-tariff barriers.”

“The connectivity is very important and the ESCAP is facilitating in connectivity.”

In 2016, Alisjahbana was a member of the High Level Independent Team of Advisors to support the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations Development System in the context of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

She said Bangladesh needs to be very careful when opening up its markets for other countries, like through signing of free trade agreements as there is a possibility of inflow of cheap goods in the domestic market.

“Cheap goods may enter and the local industries might not grow if Bangladesh is not careful in opening up the domestic market.”

“The ideal strategy is: develop goods for the domestic market and serve the international market. This means serving part of the local market and part of the foreign market.”

A former national development planning minister, Alisjahbana said follow-up is needed to develop infrastructure in the Asia and the Pacific.

“The map of transnational highway network is there and the cross-border paperless strategies are there, but they need to be operationalised.”

“We need to work together. The connections need to be facilitated through joint working groups among the Asia and the Pacific region.”

Alisjahbana said the nations should work on how a single permit can allow container trucks to pass through borders in order to cut time and cost.

“Only signing agreements is not enough. The countries need to make agreements effective. The ESCAP can help here,” she said.

She said even two to three nations can work together and set a good example for the whole region.

The UN official earned her bachelor degree in economics and development studies from the Universitas Indonesia and a master’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and a PhD in economics from the University of Washington, both in the US.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/use-tech-boost-productivity-create-jobs-1841398

[Umme Atia Siddiqua]

enlightening

[Dipty Rahman]

In the modern times there is no alternative to IT.