‘Kotha is our Facebook, PayPal and WhatsApp’

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A homegrown mobile application with the mind-boggling capacity to send messages, make voice calls, order grocery and food, stream music and movies and purchase tickets has started doing the rounds with a promise to make life easier for digital citizens of Bangladesh.

The beta version of the country's first social and lifestyle application, Kotha, premiered on Wednesday by Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, at a programme held at the program technology park at the Janata Tower in Dhaka.

Palak used the application at the function and was so amazed by its features that he declared himself the brand ambassador of Kotha, available these days for download from the Google and Apple app stores.

"To me Kotha is our Facebook, our PayPal, Netflix, Twitter and WhatsApp," he said, while promising the band of tech-savvy local entrepreneurs who developed the app support from the federal government in the sort of work place and funding.

Such programs in South Korea, China and the Philippines have witnessed huge success. Korea has Kakaotalk, the Philippines has Tantan and China WeChat. "Why can't this app be a success in Bangladesh?"
 
"Whenever we share anything in Facebook and Google all our data goes to them. They are taking the info outside the country and so are also earning from us utilizing the data. Through Kotha you want to create a person data hub in Bangladesh."

Palak said the world is now observing a trade war and if Bangladesh faces anything like this, the united states will be self-dependent regarding users' data through platforms like Kotha.

"You want to see Bangladesh as an ground breaking nation. Our young talents will establish search engines and communications platforms like Google and Facebook," Palak said, adding that he will work to popularise the application in the country.

Besides obtaining a Facebook-like experience, persons can pay attention to music, watch movies, top up phones and use digital maps. A lot more services are coming up to speed within two months, when its full version will be rolled out.

Users may also be in a position to make payments, plan tours, take ride and purchase tickets and games, which entrepreneurs think will ultimately change the social and digital lifestyle of individuals.

"This will be an 'all-in-one app' and can save a huge amount of foreign currency as it will draw an enormous volume of traffic that's currently using foreign social media outlets," said Mahboob Zaman, chairman of Kotha Technologies Limited that is developing the app.

The app was already downloaded a lot more than 30,000 times and a wide array of youths are showing interest by sharing photographs and videos.
 
Bangladeshi customers are making a whole lot of data now through the use of different digital services which will soon become a minefield, said Zaman, a renowned technology entrepreneur and managing director of DataSoft Systems Bangladesh.

"Certainly, data could be the next currency and if we've access to the info, persons will experience drastic change in their lives," said Zaman, also a former president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services.

Every year different social media platforms like Facebook and Google are earning a large number of crores of taka from Bangladesh through users' data and that helps the brands hook up with their customers aswell, said Tashfin Delwar, ceo of Kotha Technologies.

Delwar said they will work to establish a network for the software where small entrepreneurs can open accounts and will run their business digitally like WeChat does in China. Owners of Kotha are also targeting the Bangla speaking community since it may be the eighth most spoken language on earth.

Entrepreneurs of Kotha said Bangladesh's financial growth, government's willingness, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, change in consumer perception and internet penetration -- all were contributing positively to the government's vision of Digital Bangladesh.

Nonetheless, the country continues to be dependent on foreign services for social media and communication, they said.

Mohaimin Mostafa, its chief marketing officer, believes that Kotha will make a direct effect and add value to people's life.

Kotha will offer the Bangladeshis their own social media and communication tool and promote make use of Bangla language, he added. Delwar, the CEO, believes Kotha will slowly but surely replace Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber and other applications like these.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net

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