XayanIT, Bangladesh
By providing skills and jobs in ICTs to unprivileged Bangladeshi students, Salah Uddin is slowing down the brain drain, instilling a spirit of social engagement among youth and improving the country?s development.
1. The new idea
Although Information and Communication Technologies is still reserved for the developed world, Salah Uddin believes that expanding ICT in Bangladesh will stimulate the country?s development. Seeking to provide youth with opportunities generated by ICT, XayanIT aims to stimulate a paradigm shift by providing quality, customized, cost effective ICT consultation, managed services and web/software R&D to serve clients in Bangladesh and around the world.
2. The problem
Bangladesh is a small Muslim country with a population of 145 million, with 80 million people under the age of 24 and 48 million under the age of 14. In its recent history, Bangladesh has experienced famines, natural disasters, devastating civil war and political unrest. The country still suffers from hazards that slow down its development and is ranked one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International.
More than 93 % of youth between 15-24 are not in education and only 2 % are attending university. The national unemployment rate has risen to 40 %. Because going abroad means the prospect of higher wages and a better life, most skilled youth pitch on leaving Bangladesh. This brain drain results in the loss of Bangladesh?s future leaders and lack of opportunities inevitably have led to increased levels of poverty and violence. It is pressing to short-circuit these trends and protect the country against a rise in terrorism.
3. The strategy
By connecting the four main components of its strategy - youth, education, employment and ICT - XayanIT is creating opportunities for skilled youth as well as quality products for its clients. Salah Uddin?s model is based on the development of human resources of Bangladeshi universities in technology oriented fields. Interns are offered on the job training and are matched with mentors who support and guide them. The training provides focus on web programming, administration and software development.
Given the market represented by Small and Medium Size Enterprises ? which accounts for about 95 % of the total enterprises in the US - XayanIT decided to focus on these specific clients. In the last year, Salah Uddin?s team has worked with three international and three domestic clients (one US and two Australian). The revenue generated last year amounted to 21,000 USD. As a for-profit with social mandate enterprise, XayantIT is seeking to generate more revenue to contribute to poverty reduction in Bangladesh. A 25,000 USD outsourcing contract is currently being finalised.
Dhaka University is XayanIT?s main partner. Dhaka University Alumni Association is another big partner that provides the interns and XayanIT with jobs in the domestic context. Currently, four permanent staff are working at XayanIT and ten part-time. Since last year XayanIT has provided employment to 20 graduates and skills development training to 50 students.
XayanIT is also working on the development of the Bangladeshi portal to increase Bangladesh's virtual footprint and is scheduled to complete it by October 2007. 189 million people speak Bengali around the world. Their under-representation gave Salah Uddin the idea of creating a robust, dynamic, multimedia platform connecting Bangladeshis. This platform will be used as an internal and external projection of XayanIT's community based ICT initiatives. 15 students and 3 professionals will work on that project.
4. The person
Salah Uddin was born and raised in Bangladesh. He obtained a Masters Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Dhaka where he is now working as an Assistant Professor. His experience as a student in Bangladesh gave him an insight into the country?s education system. He understands more than anyone else the challenges students are facing and is thus able to react adequately.
