Bangladesh has excellent prospects of attracting foreign investments through blockchain technology, the State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said on Wednesday.
He made this remark while briefing the reporters at the press conference on the special program of the 3-day International Blockchain Olympiad, 2021 which will start on october 8 in Bangladesh for the first time at the ICT in the capital.
The International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL) is specially organized every year for the young generation.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak said startups in the country have been very successful and have brought in over $500 million in foreign investment in the last five years.
Blockchain can be one of the investment sectors in Bangladesh, he said, adding that, universities and educational institutions need to come forward to encourage blockchain and include blockchain in their curriculum.
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We are going to set up more than 5,000 new Sheikh Russell Digital Labs, so that the teenagers of this country may know about a futuristic technology like blockchain and there are 10,000 more plans in the next phase.
“We want to build a middle--income country in 2021, a high-middle-income country in 2031 and a developed Bangladesh in 2041. The specific target set by the people's leader Sheikh Hasina is that now the GDP size of three hundred and a half billion dollars will be 700 billion dollars in 2031 and 1 trillion dollars in 2041,” he mentioned.
Now, with the income from our garment industry, the income of our expatriate workers, agriculture and all the other labor-dependent industries, Sheikh Hasina wants to build a knowledge-based society and a technology-based economy, he added.
Besides, we have far-reaching plans for all that, and as part of that plan, we chose "blockchain technology, he said.
Palak further said that a state-of-the-art Sheikh Russell Digital Lab is being set up to empower the present and future generations of children and adolescents in future technology.
“The country has already set up 8,000 "Sheikh Russell Digital Labs". More than 5,000 "Sheikh Russell Digital Labs" and 300 "Schools of the Future" are being set up,” he mentioned.
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There are also plans to set up 10,000 more "Sheikh Russell Digital Labs" in the future and another 5,000 Sheikh Russell Digital Labs at an early stage, he added.
Through these labs millions of students are being educated in information technology, Palak said adding that today's children will be the leaders of 2041.
“They will lead in every sector. The way we will build today's children, the knowledge--based Bangladesh of 2041 will be built in the same way,” he mentioned.
Professor Dr. Mohammad Kaykobad, Convener, BCOLBD said that the 12 winning teams of Bangladesh from the National Blockchain Olympiad are participating in the international stage of this event which is a matter of pride and success for us.
The Executive Director and Additional Secretary of BCC Dr. Md Abdul Mannan, PAA said that International Blockchain Olympiad is a global competition. It is very honorable for us to organize it. He thanked all the participants in this event.
Dr. Lawrence Ma, President, Hong Kong Blockchain Society thanked Bangladesh for successfully hosting the International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL). He hopes that through this arrangement, it is possible to find advanced technological solutions through the use of blockchain technology.
The theme of the program is "Inspiring Empowerment and Innovation". It is one of the platforms where they can compete with different countries. The 12 winning teams of "Blockchain Olympiad Bangladesh 2021" are participating in the international stage of the event from Bangladesh.
Students from all over the world are participating in this global contest to become winners. Prizes figuring more than 40,000US dollars have been awarded to the winners. Many national and international blockchain experts will join as judges and speakers at the event. Total 12 countries are participating in this global competition: China, Hong kong, Vietnam, Philippines, UAE, Iran, Indonesia, Netherlands, Nepal, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the participating countries with 50 teams in total.
The Olympiad is jointly organized by the ICT Division, Bangladesh Computer Council, Blockchain Olympiad Bangladesh (BCOLBD) and Technohaven Company Ltd.
Blockchain means a chain made of blocks. It is primarily a transaction technology where it is possible to transfer money directly from one person to another. And this blockchain technology is one of the most dynamic and secure technologies where no one can create duplicity or fault in a transaction if they want to.
Blockchain technology is a decentralized, distributed ledger that records the provenance of a digital asset.
