target and enter EU markets for outsourcing services. Partner TSIs Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Se
CREATING SUSTAINABLE EXPORTER COMPETITIVENESS IN THE IT & ITES SECTOR IN BANGLADESH Netherlands Trust Fund II
Creating Sustainable Exporter Competitiveness in the IT & ITES Sector in Bangladesh Funded by the Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) in the framework of the Netherlands Trust Fund II (NTF II), the project focuses on the enhancement of the Bangladeshi IT & ITES sector’s brand and marketing capacities. It also aims to establish market linkages with targeted European countries.
Establishing business links with potential European clients in selected markets and segments, to the benefit of Bangladeshi IT & ITES companies 40 Bangladeshi companies, which are already exporting or have the potential to do so, are benefiting from the project’s business-linkage activities in Denmark, the Netherlands and UnitedKingdom. These companies have been assessed by European business-linkage experts, who are also coaching them on export marketing. Vendor profiles have been established in coordination with the experts and partner trade support institutions (TSI) in Europe. They are gathered in a catalog and an online directory, which are both used to market the IT & ITES offering of Bangladesh in the target markets. Yearly matchmaking events are organized in Europe, as well as in Dhaka during the SOFTEXPO trade fair.
Strengthening the competencies of BASIS and DCCI in order to identify, target and enter EU markets for outsourcing services Partner TSIs Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) are being supported to set up a commercial service of business linkage to the benefit of Bangladeshi businesses. More specifically, related competencies of the partner TSIs are being strengthened through the following activities: Engaging Business-linkage experts and partner TSIs in Denmark, Netherlands and UK to coach TSI staff in replicating their methodology Undertaking yearly demand-side studies (Target Market Overview looking at relevant segments and Marketing Plan) and transferring methodology to partner TSIs Building strong links between partner TSIs and TSIs in target markets
Enhancing branding capacity of BASIS and DCCI to improve Bangladesh’s country image IT & ITES industry branding activities have been so far limited, with BASIS undertaking a small-scale launch of the BangladeshNEXT brand in October 2010. The TSI also organizes the SOFTEXPO fair on an annual basis for the promotion and branding of Bangladesh, with few foreign delegations visiting the event. DCCI is also involved in country branding activities and has shown a renewed interest in promoting the IT & ITES sector by designating a Director in charge of the industry. NTF II Bangladesh is supporting these efforts by backing up the business-linkage with PR activities and mobilizing industry analysts (AT Kearney, McKinsey, Everest Research…), together with the active support of the project partners. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lilia Naas NFT II Programme Manager,
[email protected] Martin Labbé, NTF II Bangladesh Project Manager,
[email protected] 