Dhaka: May 23, 2018: Cisco
today deepened its commitment to Bangladesh with the launch of Cisco
START- a new initiative specifically
designed to help Bangladesh’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) build their
digital foundation and become globally competitive. This initiative is a
demonstration of Cisco’s commitment to accelerate Bangladesh’s digital
transformation and showcase how digitization can fuel economic growth,
world-class innovation, sustainable competitiveness, and prosperity.
A digitized country aims to drive
GDP growth, increase employment, promote innovation, improve research and
education, encourage entrepreneurship, accelerate business innovation, foster
economic initiatives and sustain infrastructure. Towards that, Cisco is the
leading technology partner helping countries become digital hubs of innovation
by building sophisticated and forward-thinking IT network ecosystems that allow
for greater connectivity, productivity, and security. Cisco will work with government bodies and businesses to grow
GDP, create new jobs, empower future workforce, build smart cities, which will enable
better quality life for the residents of Bangladesh.
High-speed broadband coverage, rising adoption of mobile devices, proliferation of data, improving quality of
connectivity as well as the expansion of logistics services and networks are
breaking the geographical market barriers for businesses in Bangladesh and
opening up new opportunities. Cisco recognizes
the SMB market in Bangladesh as a critical industry, which will accelerate Bangladesh’s digitization and create immense
opportunities for economic competitiveness and employment.
SMEs
in Bangladesh accounted for more than 99% of private sector industrial
establishments and employ 70%–80% of the nonagricultural labor force
contributing to over one-third of industrial value-added to gross domestic
product (GDP). With Bangladesh
looking to drive growth through digitization, SMBs have become an essential
component of the country’s digital transformation journey. However, SMBs face
challenges such as access to right technology, lack of skill sets as well as
high entry cost that limit their ability to scale and seize opportunities
provided by digitization.
Cisco START aims
to make it easy for SMBs and midmarket customers to embrace digitization by providing
them with access to a suite of simple, secure and smart enterprise-class
technologies, specifically tailored to their needs. More specifically, Cisco START delivers:
- The right-sized,
right-priced solutions wherever they are on
their digital journey
- Enhanced operations, services, and
processes to reduce overheads and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- Improved workforce productivity and innovation to
meet the increased demands of today and the evolving opportunities of
tomorrow
Commitment to Support Skill
Development in Bangladesh and Increase Bangladesh’s Pool of Highly Trained
Professionals through Cisco Networking Academy Program
As part of
Cisco’s commitment to accelerate Digital Bangladesh and supporting Bangladesh’s
Digitization agenda, Cisco has established 12 Cisco Networking Academies in the
country and has trained over 12300 students till date. The Cisco Networking
Academy program is a cloud-delivered, scalable, high-quality program that helps
students learn how to design, build, secure and maintain computer networks and
prepare for jobs in the digital economy. Globally, more than 8 million people
have joined the Networking Academy and become a force for change in the global
economy since 1997.
Executive Quote:
Announcing the launch, Mr.
Sameer Garde, President, Cisco India & SAARC said: “Cisco’s association with Bangladesh is over
two decades old, and over time it has become an important market for us. We are excited to be a part of Bangladesh’s
digital journey and help further the government’s vision to fuel economic growth, world-class innovation,
sustainable competitiveness, and prosperity. The launch of Cisco START
demonstrates our commitment to accelerate digitization of SMBs in Bangladesh.
He
further added “Going digital can truly catalyze growth
for SMEs, the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy. With Cisco START, SMBs now have
access to digital technologies that can help them
digitize and secure their business in the digital era. We want Bangladesh to be ahead of the digital curve, and take
advantage of the opportunities it presents.”