Overcoming the Covid 19 propelled revenue losses, Bangladesh’s software sector has picked up again, rekindling its ambition to capture global markets, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Software companies in Bangladesh had witnessed a sharp revenue drop after the Covid outbreak in March last year, losing around USD 1.2-1.3 billion, according to industry insiders. 

Syed Almas Kabir, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), told Dhaka Tribune that business was not possible in the initial months of the pandemic and scores of international work orders were suspended.

However, Accelerating Asia, an international venture capital firm, has announced in its annual report that four Bangladeshi startups — Amar Lab, DoctorKoi, HandyMama and SWAP — were among the 11 high-growth startups from Southeast Asia and the South Asia region.

Business analyst of DataSoft Muntasir Rahman said: "We could not do anything last year. But this year we are starting to hold our positions in the international market and getting orders. But we are always afraid of order cancellations by foreign buyers."

Another IT firm, Reve Systems, marketed its first antivirus software in 2017.

Now it is exporting its antivirus to India, and plans to reach Nepal, Tanzania, Kenya, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

Other local companies like Tiger IT have developed a voter registration system for Nepal.

Pathao, a start-up, launched ride-sharing services in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Moreover, the government agencies are the major client of the local software followed by public and private universities.

Industry insiders said the Made-in-Bangladesh software products have become brand names locally and globally, enabling local companies to open liaison offices in different countries, including the US and The UK.

More than 25-30 Bangladeshi companies, including REVE Systems, Tiger IT, DataSoft, Dohatec, eGeneration, and Southtech have already set up offices in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Japan, the UK, the US and various African countries, according to data by BASIS.

These firms export to around 40 countries across the globe, making Bangladesh a major source of quality software products.

The country has nearly 3,000 IT and software firms catering to an estimated market size of Tk9,000 crore per annum.

Of them, 1,200 companies who are members of BASIS, cater to around two-thirds of the market.

The government has already declared this sector as an emergency sector and exempted it from value-added tax (VAT).

“The government has revised its target of $5 billion export from IT services and software and also to create two million jobs in the sector by 2025. It was supposed to be attained by 2021. But the pandemic put the plan off course,” said Kabir.

BASIS had sought, but did not get, over Tk650 crore in stimulus loans from the government last year for its 1,400 member companies. The stimulus would have been used to pay salaries and office rent, according to a BASIS business continuity plan.

"We need a credit guarantee to take loans from banks. Otherwise, we will be deprived," said the BASIS president.

(SAM)