December 12, 2021
Grameenphone received the prestigious 2021 Digital Bangladesh Award in the ‘institutional category’ for its notable contribution to the development of Bangladesh's startup ecosystem and youth enablement. The award honors innovative initiatives by companies committed to digital innovation to support Government’s growth ambition. The award was handed over to Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone on December 12, 2021 at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) by Hon’able Prime Minister, Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina along with State Minister for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
To continue the country’s growth momentum and unleash the potential to achieve our vision of a self-sustained and knowledge-based economy we need to harness on the digitalization and leverage our demographic dividend. Grameenphone Accelerator, announced in 2015, is a collaborative program designed to help new startups succeed and create that much needed economic dividend that drives national growth. This six month program expand the range of solutions to startups through workshops, goal setting, business building support, mentorship, investor connect and many more.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for ICT, said, “The Government has been putting serious emphasis on creating ICT awareness and promoting technology as the enabler for the promised Digital Bangladesh. In this regard, rewarding the deserving initiatives and the patronizing organizations could be a praiseworthy step to keep the spirit high. Winning programs are paving the way for our nation to prepare for the forthcoming tech revolution in business and other major sectors. Congratulations to all the winners of the national ‘Digital Bangladesh Award,’ your contributions to society shall be cherished.”
Yasir Azman, CEO of Grameenphone, thanked the organizers for recognizing the organization’s efforts in upskilling the youth for a better tomorrow. “I would like to take the opportunity to thank our Hon’able Prime Minister for recognizing our contributions to the Digital Bangladesh journey I am humbled and honored to be receiving this award. To reiterate our social commitment and truly empower the nation, Grameenphone believes in taking a youth-first approach, upskilling and reskilling them with industry-first initiatives like FutureNation and GP Accelerator to enable and unleash the potential of the demographic dividend into future drivers of economic progress, and tap into the 4IR opportunities. In this era of digitalization, it is important for us to step up and be a part of the change that is inevitable, and recognitions like this inspire us and motivate us with a deep sense of empowering Bangladesh to collectively equip our youth with future-ready skills and march towards becoming a knowledge-based high-income country by 2041.””