BB initiative to set up 10,000 digital centres
July 5, 2010
FE Report –Bangladesh Bank has taken initiative to set up 10,000 digital centres to provide IT-based banking and insurance services at the grassroots level of the country.
“This is a visionary project and the centres will be set up under SME programme,” Dr Atiur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) said.
Proper implementation of the plan depends on the good intention of banking and financial institutions. This technology-based project will take the banking service to the door step of common people, he said.
The private banks and financial institutions should come forward to establish the digital centres, he said adding that private banks could be able to take their services to the remote corners of the country through introducing the electronic system.
“And with this aim we are planning to set up 10 digital centres in each thana initially,” he said.
He was speaking at a seminar on “Setting up Digital Centres under SME” in the city organised by the central bank and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Foundation.
Digital Technologies Ltd (DTL) will set up the centres as the central bank approved the project in September last year.
“The centres will take ICT services to the doorstep of common people and ensure empowerment of women,” Mozammel Haque, chief executive officer of DTL said.
Apart from giving bank credit the digital centres would be used for bill payment of utility services, online care trading, e-ticketing, e-top-up and payment of land taxes and insurance premiums, he said.
The project will create self-employment for 100,000 unemployed women in three years, he said while presenting his key-note paper.
The loan under SME project will directly be extended to a five-member group of unemployed educated young people, he explained.
The group of five educated youths would be given Tk 0.5 million loan from SME fund to establish a centre, he added.
The activities for setting up of the digital centres have already been launched in a number of areas and Sonali Bank intended to be involved with the project, Mr Haque said.
Aftab-ul-Islam, chairman of SME Foundation, suggested setting up the centres at pilot project-based programme to observe its output.
Syed Rezwanul Kabir, managing director of SME Foundation, Sukamal Sinha Choudhury, general manager (SME and special programmes department) of BB and Ebtadul Islam, executive director and head of Bangladesh Bank Training Academy were, among others, present at the seminar.
Source: thefinancialexpress-bd.com
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