The leading global ICT infrastructure provider Huawei has today inaugurated three new competitions namely ICT Incubator, App Developer and Tech Woman to nurture the local startups and ICT talents of Bangladesh. The inauguration ceremony of these three programs has been held at Lakeshore Hotel recently.

All these three programs are designed for the new startup and idea on developing mobile apps. Among those, ICT incubator contest is focused on startups and divided into two criteria – Idea Stage and Early Stage. This ICT Incubator competition is powered by Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited alongside iDEA and Startup Bangladesh Limited as strategic partners. 

The champion of both idea stage and early stage of the ICT Incubation competition will get up to BDT 500,000 prize money, CEO will get chance to meet successful startup at abroad & up to USD 125k Huawei Cloud credit. 1st and 2nd runner up will consecutively get up to BDT 300,000 & up to BDT 100,000 prize money. Both the runner ups’ CEO will also get the chance to meet successful Startup at abroad with USD 80k Cloud Credit.

Other two competitions are being organized by Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited. Huawei App Developer & Huawei Tech Woman competitions are for University student. Maximum two members can form a team. Participants from 3rd or 4th year of any University with a CGPA above 3.0 will be eligible to apply. Huawei Tech Woman program is solely dedicated for women participation whereas in Huawei App Developer, the combination can be anyway. 

The champion of App Developer & Huawei Tech Woman competition will get up to BDT 300,000 prize money, an opportunity to meet global successful app developers and Huawei Cloud resource of up to USD 5,000. 1st and 2nd runner up will consecutively get up to BDT 200,000 & up to BDT 100,000 prize money and up to USD 3,000 & USD 2,000 Huawei Cloud resource.

The chief guests of the inauguration ceremony were Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, Hon’ble State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Pan Junfeng, CEO, Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited. 

The inauguration ceremony of these programs began with an opening speech by Pan Junfeng, CEO, Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited. Afterward, Prof. Dr. M. Moshiul Hoque, Dean, ECE (CUET) & Chair, IEEE Bangladesh Section, gave the keynote speech. This was followed by a program overview and speech by Ilmul Haque Sajib, Co-founder & COO, Sheba Platform Ltd.; Prof. Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Vice-Chancellor, Islamic University of Technology; Md. Altaf Hossain, Project Director, iDEA Project; and Sami Ahmed, Managing Director, Startup Bangladesh Limited. 

At this occasion, ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “We need to build a startup community to build a digital society, knowledge-based economy and an innovative Bangladesh. To expedite this process, Huawei has developed an excellent partnership model through these competitions. In this special initiative taken by Huawei and meant for mobile app developers and women involved in the ICT sector, people from different backgrounds including university teachers, various established startups, mentors and Huawei itself as the world's leading ICT infrastructure provider are involved, and I am representing the Government of Bangladesh.” 

Pan Junfeng, CEO, Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited, said, “The ICT Incubator will foster a healthy and sustainable startup ecosystem for everyone by assisting both early-stage startups and idea-stage startups. It will also provide all EEE, ECE & CSE students in their 3rd and 4th year the opportunity to enhance their already existing skills while attaining new ones. The programs will also focus on supporting the women of this country who are working or studying in tech-related fields. We hope that everyone will benefit from these programs.”

Prof. Dr. M. Moshiul Hoque, Dean, ECE (CUET) & Chair, IEEE Bangladesh Section said, “Huawei App developer, Tech Women and ICT Incubator programs are timely initiative to develop a unique platform for our young and talented people and I believe these unique programs will go a long way fostering and give them an opportunity to unleash their creativity after honoring their skills.”

Prof. Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Vice-Chancellor, Islamic University of Technology, said, “Since the last few years, I have witnessed Huawei introduce some of the most unique youth development programs. For example, I have seen students participate in Huawei’s iconic Seeds For The Future program and how it impacted their lives drastically with all the knowledge they have gained. Hence, I truly believe that the upcoming three programs will offer students with numerous opportunities to showcase their skills while also developing new ones.”

Ilmul Haque Sajib, COO, Sheba Platform Ltd., said, “Last two years have shown us how ICT sector can contribute in the GDP and ensure the growth and development even in crisis. So, we really need to work more this industry. I believe this initiative will contribute a lot and change the ICT sector.” 

The registration process will begin from 15th June and end in 30th June. Interested candidates of all three programs can apply from the official website - https://hibator.com/