Bangladesh is a South Asian nation that has witnessed significant progress in a number of areas over the past decade including economic indicators such as GDP growth where the country posted an impressive 8.2% growth in 2019 notwithstanding many challenges posed by the pandemic outbreak. It currently has one of the fastest growing economies in the region and this success can be attributed to the country’s openness to embrace digitalization as a national priority. According to Minister of Post, Telecommunications & Information Technology Mustafa Jabbar: “All commercial activities are going to be digital, and all current business laws, regulations and policies are to be made compatible with the digital commerce revolution.”

Education, commerce and governance can tremendously benefit from embracing digitalization. Particularly for a country dependent on readymade garments as the key export, automation and digitalization of processes can help with improving efficiency at every level of the supply chain and thus enabling Bangladesh remain ahead of its competition. The digitalization drive can be extended to other areas of the economy too. For example, the country’s booming insurance sector can benefit tremendously from embracing digitalization. DigiMed is a simple application which enables insurance carriers or organizations to automate their medical claims process for a faster output sans lags and delays. Claiming insurance is generally perceived as being a tedious task but with platforms such as this the process can be made simple, efficient and more accurate.

Digi Med which is a service under the DigiEx Mobile App can be downloaded free from App Store & Google Play and has a pay-as-you-go model for upgrading. The service is reliable, encrypted for safety and is a contact-free and sustainable alternative to the conventional approach. Digitalizing the workflow can offer several benefits to organizations: the output is generally faster while also being accurate & reliable. It also offers greater transparency with every transaction being able to be centrally monitored and authorized by relevant personnel.

The digitalization drive is here to stay. Bangladesh recognized the need to embrace the tech revolution before the pandemic outbreak but saw it accelerate and materialize compelled by circumstance; many organizations resorted to working from home to ensure continuity of the services offered. Many Public sector enterprises and services, too, followed suit. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal quoted Blue Prism, a leading player in robotics automation, as having witnessed a revenue surge of 125% in the last fiscal year with their customer-base soaring to over 1300 from only 200 three years ago.

The local insurance industry has tremendous potential to prosper as Bangladesh economy continues to stabilize. Currently the country ranks 80th in the world in terms of insurance penetration ranking below regional counterparts such as India and Sri Lanka but above Pakistan. The country’s penetration stands at 0.5% behind the average of 3.3. in emerging markets. This warrants insurers to take actives steps to close the gap and help citizens access financial protection through awareness-building and promoting accessibility. In order to do that, however, it is of paramount importance for insurance companies to consolidate and streamline internal processes so that a better, customer-centric service could be offered. It is crucial that the organizations pick the correct tools so that the digitalization processes can enhance the workflow efficiency instead of impeding same.

Even with normalcy being restored in most parts of the world, a Bloomberg study found that as many as 39% in US workforce considered quitting if their employers weren’t flexible about remote work. Among millennial and Gen Z, that figure was 49%. These indicators point to a more digitalized world even in the aftermath of the pandemic therefore in order to preserve the growth momentum it seems logical for Bangladesh to invest in leveraging technology.

Sources:
https://unctad.org/press-material/bangladesh-poised-benefit-e-commerce-boost-after-laying-exemplary-digital-foundation
https://www.metlife.com.bd/blog/insurance/bangladesh-insurance-industry-outlook-2021/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-01/return-to-office-employees-are-quitting-instead-of-giving-up-work-from-home