How can the private sector position Bangladesh for hypergrowth and long-term success?

Unlike in many other countries, the private sector in Bangladesh was a crucial player in helping the country move up the development trajectory. By employing close to four million women across the 4,000 garments factories in Bangladesh or through providing basic banking services through microcredit and mobile financial services, the private sector in Bangladesh has played a significant role.

Over the coming years, this role must become more prominent as the world has been going through an unprecedented change over the last few years powered by digital interconnectedness and the rise of new technologies like Blockchain, AI and Internet of Things (IoT). This fourth industrial revolution is altering countries, industries, organisations, and even individuals, in unprecedented ways. The advent of platform business models like Uber led to the evolution of similar models globally including Pathao in Bangladesh and Oyo Rooms in India. There is a rising entrepreneurship movement riding on easy access to capital along with low capital requirements that enable companies to be created by any talented individual.

Social media usage is at an all-time high. But technology is also bringing in several unintended consequences and when used by the wrong actors or by the common person in wrong ways, it could have destabilising effects on the economy. In many countries, the economy rests on few industries and in some cases, few companies. Increasingly, countries are proactively shaping their policies to make it relevant to the new reality at the intersection of technology and society. Many countries are realising the importance of adapting to this new context. The private sector needs to rethink its role in Bangladesh to position itself for hypergrowth and long-term success.

With the emergence of new technologies like robotics and the pressure to create local jobs, many countries are increasingly moving their operations back home. Adidas recently announced that it will launch mass production of running shoes at a German factory operated largely by robots next year. These new technologies allow companies to lower their cost of operations and countries that are operating on cost arbitrage need to be ready to deal with these changes. The answer to these kinds of developments is not to reduce the wages of the employees to maintain low costs, but exploring ways to add more value either through high value-added services or leveraging technology to enhance productivity.

Poland, which doubled its GDP in the last 25 years, recently became the first country from the former Soviet bloc to be ranked a “developed market.” It could be an interesting role model when it comes to enterprise development. In Poland, an agency called Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) was launched to enable the creation and effective implementation of the state policy related to enterprise, innovation and staff adaptability in their quest to become an innovation-driven economy.

One of the things that the IT industry in India did was to bring predictability into the outcomes through efficient processes. The Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM) Level 5 certifies that an IT services company can deliver a risk-free performance during the entire course of a project. When project owners get assurance on how the risks are managed, it improves trust and sets the industry for long-term success.

The private sector needs to gain confidence in adopting new technologies using a test-and-learn mindset. An Indian supplier of the automotive industry recently integrated 3D printing for one small segment of their production pipeline with the full awareness that this may work or fail. Such experimentation helps to build new capabilities within the organisation and, most importantly, shapes organisational mindsets for change.

In the popular readymade garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh, technologies like Artificial Intelligence could be used to improve quality in a big way. Algorithms could be trained to evaluate textile grades, eliminate repetitive defects and even do colour evaluation. Already retailers like Amazon are using AI to understand consumer preferences. If the RMG sector can help their customers translate these preferences, it will not just build new capabilities but also help move up into high value-added, technology services. The country's dense population could be a source for creating and leveraging large datasets that make AI successful. All of the above can happen only when the basic foundations are strong. It is essential for private sector to promote safe working conditions, compliance with regulations and transparency. In the absence of a strong foundation, the world will continue to evaluate the country and the industry on incidents like Rana Plaza.

Another area where private sector can contribute is around responsible digital and social media engagement. In a digital world, every citizen needs to be a responsible statesman. What we say and what we do online creates an image about ourselves, our network and our country. One wrong action in the online world by one random individual could lead to instant negative generalisations about a whole community or a whole country. It takes years to undo a negative perception and responsible engagement online is the cornerstone of a powerful national brand. We all remember how videos of Japanese fans cleaning the stadium, after watching a football match during the World Cup, went viral globally. It created global respect and a very positive perception towards Japan. Small acts of kindness and responsible behaviour can create huge positive outcomes for our respective organisations, communities, and countries. In addition to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes on development and sustainability, the private sector can design CSR programmes to foster responsible citizenship both in the real and virtual worlds.

In addition to community development programmes already initiated by the private sector, some of the CSR programmes could aim at instilling responsible online behaviour, teaching social media ethics and eliminating fake news. In addition, leaders from the private sector need to systematically capture their innovations and responsibility initiatives. Most importantly, they need to be shared in local and global platforms which could lead to effective brand-building in the minds of not just global decision-makers but also among the general public.

The public sector alone cannot help the case for Bangladesh at a global level. It needs the help and support of the private sector. The country grew 7.28 percent in the last fiscal year and is projected to grow at 7.5 percent for FY2018-19. As a result, this will be the eighth year in a row that its GDP has exceeded six percent. Private sector played a crucial role in this growth and to transcend to the next level of growth, the private sector needs to move beyond their organisations and help to catalyse systemic change. They need to support ecosystem development, enhance the scope of their CSR efforts, adopt an experimental mindset to build new capabilities riding on new technologies and, most importantly, shape the industry and national agenda locally as well as globally.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net

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