BASIS Softexpo to begin in Dhaka February 14

Local software companies expect the upcoming BASIS Softexpo 2008 to yield a good number of outsourcing and joint venture initiatives with the largest number of foreign companies and delegates participating in this year’s fair.

The Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, the national trade body of software and ICT service companies, is going to organize the five-day event from February 14 at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre in association with international trade bodies.

Organisers said at a press conference on Tuesday that about 50 foreign companies and delegates from five countries will take part alongside the local companies at this year’s fair.

The convener of the exhibition, TIM Nurul Kabir said that they are expecting a good number of match making session with the delegates and local companies, during which local software companies will get an opportunity for outsourcing and partnership with foreign companies.

Rafiqul Islam Rowly, president of BASIS, said, ‘we have a serious image problem in the international market and our strategy is to bring the potential foreign companies to the country through this fair so that they can see for themselves the progress in our ICT sector’.

Denmark will be the theme country for this year’s event and IT Industry Association of Denmark will be the association partner of BASIS Softexpo 2008.

Danish Federation of Small and Medium Industries, Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, UK Trade and Investment, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), will all be strategic partners of the exposition.

Rafiqul Islam said, ‘Denmark is the theme country for this year because they are emerging as the engine of our joint venture and outsourcing businesses in the software industry.’

Natahalia Feinberg, chargé d’affaires of Danish Embassy in Dhaka, said around 15 Denmark-Bangladesh joint ventures had been established in the country and many Danish companies are also outsourcing software development mainly in architecture, graphic design and 3D animation to Bangladesh.

She said about 15-20 Danish firms are coming to the expo and she hoped that the number of partnerships and joint venture will increase this year.

Tomohiro Kinomoto, representative of Japan External Trade Organisation in Dhaka, said Japanese companies are looking for outsourcing partners in Bangladesh. He said a total of six Japanese companies will participate at this year’s exposition in their bid to find outsourcing partners.

Kevin Ringham of the UK Trade and Investment at the British High Commission in Dhaka said there are opportunities for UK and Bangladeshi companies to work together. UK Trade and Investment will promote UK companies that collaborate with Bangladeshi ones, he said .

Shakhwat Ali, director of Export Promotion Bureau, Feroz Mahmood, country representative of Microsoft and Mostofa Jabbar, president of Bangladesh Computer Samity were present at the press conference.

The theme of this year event is ‘Get, Gain and Grow’.

Around 200 software and IT service companies are expected to participate at the fair. The exhibition will be categorised into zones such as business software, outsourcing, multimedia, animation and games, e-commerce, e-governance, hardware technology solution, telecommunication and networking, and a number of other categories.

The expo will also feature a Best IT Use Award, IT job fair and seminars on IT issues like e-commerce, e-governance, cyber laws, access to finance, and human resource development.

Organisers expect about one lakh visitors at the exhibition.

Source: Newage