Local-Business
Acquired over 50,000 customers daily in last four years: Nagad
Mobile financial services (MFS) provider Nagad Wednesday said it brought 50,800 customers under its network on average every day in the last four years.
Nagad's registered customers now stand at around 7.43 crore after its inauguration in 2019.
The MFS said its average transactions reach Tk1,000 crore a day and at times surpass the amount.
Tanvir A Mishuk, founder and managing director of Nagad, said: "We are providing our customers with quality services at the lowest costs in the market, and it has been possible because we use state-of-the-art technologies."
The introduction of the electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) by Nagad brought an end to cumbersome paperwork in opening an account. Customers can open accounts within a minute by taking a photo of their national identity card and a selfie using their smartphones.
Other MFS providers and banks adopted the e-KYC innovated by Nagad, which reduced their costs of doing business.
Later, to bring many feature phone users to rural areas under financial inclusion, Nagad made agreements with Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and telecom operators to add all mobile subscribers to its platform.
A Nagad account can now be opened by simply dialling *167# from their feature phones without using a mobile application.
The MFS said it is now working to set up a digital bank to bring all financial services to people's fingertips.
Actress Tasnia Farin to endorse Vivo smartphones
Popular actress Tasina Farin will be seen in an advertisement for smartphone Vivo.
The actress is now collaborating with the global smartphone manufacturer brand vivo.
Vivo V series is going to launch two new smartphones in the upcoming month, named as V27 and V27 E. Farin is currently working for the advertisement of this new V series handset.
The V series smartphones from vivo have always been signifying the accessibility of video and camera specs. She is likely to convey the message of newness to the generation Z through this new advertisement. That is why she chose to be connected with this special brand.
The new smartphones will be available at the market from the beginning of next month.
Eid: Vision Blender launches 'Lakhopoti Offer' campaign
Electronics brand Vision has launched a campaign for giving prizes to one lakh people on the purchase of blenders on the occasion of Eid ul Fitr.
Under the campaign, one lakh people will get prizes up to Tk1 lakh.
Kazi Rashidul Islam, executive director of Vision Electronics, inaugurated the campaign in the capital's Badda Monday.
Shaikh Mahabubur Rahman, head of marketing of Vision Blender, said, "The offer will be valid till April 30. It is available at all shops, including Vision Emporium, Best Buy, and RFL Exclusive shops."
Mitsubishi Power wins service contract for 7 years for Bibiyana–III power plant
Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), secured a seven-year full-turnkey Long Term Service Agreement (LTSA) contract for the Bibiyana–III Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP).
According to MHI, under the LTSA, Mitsubishi Power, which supplied the power plant’s M701F gas turbine, will continue to provide maintenance and inspection services of the plant’s gas turbine and related power generation equipment to enhance reliability and drive performance and efficiency.
Located approximately 200 kilometres northeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Bibiyana-III CCPP is one of Bangladesh’s largest gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plants owned by the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), responsible for power generation and distribution across the country.
About the deal BPDB chairman Md. Mahbubur Rahman said, “As demand for electricity in Bangladesh rises, we are excited to extend our longstanding partnership with Mitsubishi Power to tap on their technical expertise and service support for Bangladesh’s long-term power supply needs.
This LTSA agreement attests to our ongoing commitment to explore solutions that help us achieve reliable and efficient power generation to deliver stable electricity for the nation, he added.
Osamu Ono, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific, said, “We are honored to strengthen our partnership with Bangladesh Power Development Board at one of the first sites in the country where we installed our large-class gas turbines”.
He said MHI’s state-of-the-art gas turbines contribute to one-fifth of Bangladesh’s total energy production capacity.
“We look forward to continue supporting the maintenance and optimisation of plants across the country through LTSAs. It is our commitment to provide the people of Bangladesh with stable, clean, and reliable power,” he said.
Mitsubishi Power’s longstanding relationship with the BPDB began in 1987 with the installation of Bangladesh’s first gas turbine at the Old Haripur Power Station.
In 2016, Mitsubishi Power was commissioned by the BPDB to install an M701F gas turbine. Since the GTCC began operations in 2019, the M701F gas turbine remains Bangladesh’s most efficient gas turbine.
Mitsubishi Power delivered its first steam turbine to Bangladesh over 60 years ago and has since delivered a total of nine gas turbines and six steam turbines to Bangladesh.
The power plants are complemented by after-sales and operations and maintenance services to help support the nation’s economic growth and energy demands.
CPD bats for special increment for inflation-hit public/private employees in next national budget
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a think- tank, on Monday urged the government to provide in the next national budget a special increment to both public and private employees to adjust with the inflation.
The increment will help them reduce the stress on maintaining a family’s monthly expenditures which have increased by 25 percent due to depreciated domestic currency, energy and electricity price hikes, the CPD said in its proposals for FY 2023-2024 budget.
Referring to the cost of living the CPD said "Currently, a family of four in Dhaka city has a monthly food expenditures of Tk7,131 without fish and meat or compromise diet, while a regular diet with fish and meat costs Tk22,664."
Considering this situation, the CPD recommended for a 5 percent salary increment of workers in industries, as well as forming a new wage structure.
Read: Business environment in Bangladesh deteriorated in 2022, says CPD
Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CDP, read out the budget proposals for the fiscal year 2023-24, at press conference at Dhanmondi, in the capital on Monday.
She said the price inflation of essential food products has increased by more than 25 percent which cannot be understood using just the average price inflation data published by the government.
“The price of sugar in Bangladesh was higher than that of the US market. Rice prices in the country were higher than in Vietnam and Thailand, although Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food and imports a small amount of rice,” Fahmida pointed out.
Facing the challenges of slow recovery of the economy from Covid-19 impact and blow of Russia-Ukraine war, the CPD suggested the government emphasises the need to address the serious stress in Bangladesh’s economy in the upcoming budget.
Dr Fahmida said this has accentuated the macroeconomic situation of the country and has drawn attention away from the accumulated and embedded weaknesses within the Bangladesh economy.
She also highlighted several disquieting developments, including negative growth in revenue mobilisation, slow implementation of the development projects, increased reliance on bank borrowing for deficit financing, skyrocketing prices of essentials, declining liquidity situation of banks, deteriorating external sector balance, and the state foreign exchange reserves.
The policymakers' scope of manoeuvring policy measures has become rather limited due to the declining fiscal space, Fahmida said.
REad: CPD raises question about power tariff enhancement proposal
Considering the global and domestic situation the think-tank suggested targeted fiscal measures take centre stage, focusing on catering to the needs of the fixed-income earning and low-income population. Such measures should be accompanied by monetary measures that focus on stability, such as market-based interest rates and exchange rates.
The think-tank also emphasised that good governance and discipline are essential for these policies to bring forth their intended results.
It also said that the reform measures proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might prove to be beneficial in this regard.
The CPD also noted that while the current scenario may be unpopular for a political government in an election year, proper acknowledgement of the current situation should be at the head while formulating the budget for the next fiscal year.
Failure to do so will result in a macro-fiscal policy stance that does not meet the needs of the time, said CPD in the proposals.
At Tk 150 per dozen in Dhaka markets, eggs not an affordable protein source any more
Eggs are not an affordable quality protein source any more, as price per dozen has soared to Tk 150 in Dhaka’s kitchen markets.
Lower income families have already been cutting consumption of chicken and meat due to unusually high prices, consumer rights group say.
Now, with eggs going for close to Tk 13 per piece, they won’t be able to afford any quality source of protein altogether. Street vendors are selling boiled egg at Tk 20 per piece. An egg is being sold at Tk 30 in Dhaka restaurants.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice-president SM Nazer Hossain said consumers in Bangladesh are having a tough time amid record prices of daily essentials due to higher inflation.
Farm produced eggs, broiler chicken, and farmed fish have been traditionally key protein sources for millions of poor and low-income people in the country, he said.
He stressed on strict monitoring of eggs, chicken, meat and fish prices in kitchen markets to keep these items at affordable price for all consumers.
Egg prices rose by Tk 30-35 per dozen in contrast to January, compounding the woes of lower-income groups and those with fixed income.
While visiting kitchen markets in Dhaka yesterday, this correspondent observed that depending on the size and quality, a dozen of farm produced chicken eggs were being sold at Tk 145 to Tk 150. At some markets, eggs were being sold at Tk 155 per dozen. A dozen eggs in some super shops were being sold at Tk 170-180 per dozen.
On the other hand, duck eggs were being sold at Tk 80 per ‘hali’ (4 pieces), and free-range (local) chicken eggs were being sold at Tk 70-75 per hali.
Bangladesh Egg Producers Association President Taher Ahmed Siddiqi told UNB that the demand for eggs is still high, while production has slowed a bit.
Many farms were forced to discontinue their operations during the pandemic-induced lockdown, and are still out of production due to higher operational costs.
Production costs have risen by 70-80 percent in one and a half years amid a tectonic surge in feed prices – discouraging many to do trading amid the risk of losses.
Expats can instantly send money home at 'low cost' through Nagad
Expatriate Bangladeshis can now remit their money to their families back home through mobile financial service provider Nagad "instantly and safely at low costs."
With approval from the Bangladesh Bank, Nagad Thursday launched the remittance services.
The MFS provider said it also started a bonus campaign to encourage remittance inflows through legal channels.
Under the campaign that will run till April 30 this year, customers will get a cash bonus of up to Tk200 alongside the government incentive of Tk25 per Tk1,000 while they receive remittances in their Nagad wallets.
A customer receiving remittances amounting to Tk10,000 or more in his or her Nagad account will get Tk100 as a cash bonus. Each customer will be eligible for a maximum of Tk200 in bonus during the campaign.
Family members of expatriate workers no longer have to wait for working days to receive remittances, as Nagad's remittance services will be available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
Remittances can be sent via Nagad through partner exchange houses, money transfer operators or banks.
Initially, expatriates can immediately send remittances to Nagad wallets through partner exchange houses of Sonali Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, NCC Bank, Bank Asia, Social Islami Bank, and Trust Bank.
Tanvir A Mishuk, founder and managing director of Nagad, said, "We have added remittance to our people-centric services, which will enable our expatriates abroad to instantly send home money at a low cost. Nagad also assures its customers of the lowest charge in the market for inward remittances."
Banglalink, a2i team up to 'accelerate' Smart Bangladesh Vision
Banglalink and Aspire to Innovate (a2i) Programme recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to open up new opportunities to "accelerate" the materialisation of the Smart Bangladesh Vision.
Under this partnership, Banglalink and a2i will explore the prospects of collaboration in a multitude of areas such as business development, education, Digibox, payment aggregation, MyGov services, village digital booth, interactive voice response (IVR) and data analytics, a2i Innovation Fund, and EkShop.
Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir, project director of a2i, said: "It's great to have a partner like Banglalink, which has a successful track record of advancing the country's digital landscape. Their expertise can be highly effective in facilitating the government's ICT projects."
Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer of Banglalink, said: "We are very pleased to form this partnership with a2i. This collaboration aims to explore several areas of mutual interest, and we believe it has the potential to bring about positive changes in the country's digital landscape."
Grameenphone users can now pay for 32 government services
Grameenphone subscribers can now pay for 32 government services using their mobile balance.
Recently Grameenphone and Aspire to Innovate (a2i) joined hands to introduce a secure and efficient payment method on the go for multiple government services through direct operator billing (DOB).
DOB is an easy and efficient method that enables subscribers to pay for services such as digitally consumable ones and utility bills from their handsets using mobile balance.
To use this option, a customer needs to select Mobile Balance from the ekPay payment gateway on the prottoyon.gov.bd portal while paying for the desired service.
After providing the mobile number and OTP, the service fee will be deducted from the subscriber's mobile balance. To use the facility, a subscriber must first complete profile creation on the portal through NID verification.
Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir, a2i's project director (joint secretary) of the ICT Division, said: "Our unified mobile payment system, ekPay connects all banks and MFS providers to enable P2G (person to government) payments for hundreds of public services, including 23 utilities."
"Despite the meteoric rise of MFS and agent banking in the last decade, 18 percent of the adult population, especially in rural Bangladesh, is still unbanked. To promote inclusivity in P2G payments, we are introducing DOB with mobile operators in the government ecosystem."
"With this integration, we are ensuring that people from all walks of life have access to government services right at their fingertips through our nationwide network strength and coverage," said Solaiman Alam, CDO, Grameenphone.
PoultryTechBangladesh organises Master Farmer Training and Impact Tour
As an essential part of the PoultryTechBangladesh programme, to build on the business relationship and further cater towards the aid to trade initiative of the programme, a delegation of Dutch consortium partners visited Bangladesh recently.
The representatives from Larive International, Hato Agricultural Lighting, Van Aarsen, Hendrix Genetics, Mavitec, Nutreco, and Aeres International joined the delegation along with the officials of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh.
PoultryTechBangladesh is a public-private partnership of leading Dutch and Bangladeshi companies active in various parts of the poultry value chain. It aims to strengthen business relations between stakeholders in the Dutch and Bangladeshi poultry value chain, resulting in increased trade, investment, and cooperation and contributing to a more competitive and sustainable poultry sector in Bangladesh.
Consortium partner Aeres International conducted this training to ensure knowledge transfer and capacity building at the root level in 2022, and as the second step of the process, this year, participants from Aftab Bahumukhi Farms and Nourish Poultry attended a week-long training programme, where they conducted training sessions for regional grass-root level farmers in the presence of Helmich van Rees, Senior Trainer of Aeres International.
To improve the capacity of the participants, online training was provided by Aeres last month on curriculum development and facilitation skills.
During the delegation visit, PoultryTechBangladesh facilitated partnership between Nourish Poultry and Hatchery Ltd. and Hendrix Genetics SASSO to trial colored/traditional broiler breeds in Bangladesh.
The trial will start in May 2023, through which SASSO and Nourish will jointly showcase improved techniques for poultry farming, conducting research and trials with three SASSO breeds in Tangail, Bangladesh.