In a major step towards boosting the start up sector in Bangladesh, the first campus based IT business incubator was opened at Chattogram. The facility named ‘Sheikh Kamal IT Business Incubator’ was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) in a virtual function today .
The incubator will provide a complete and innovative eco-system for start ups in Bangladesh. Some 220 entrepreneurs, trainees, free lancers and potential startups will get financial and logistical services at the centre along with the mentoships. It will work as a bridge between the academia and the industrial and business sectors of the country.
The incubator will also provide assistance to university graduates to develop themselves as entrepreneurs. It will seek to establish effective links between universities and the IT industry, as well as create opportunities of research and innovation activities for the faculty and students of the university, reports the official news agency BSS.
The facility has been built over an area of 4.7 acre with a cost of Taka 113 crore. It is considered a flagship project of the government as part of the Digital Bangladesh campaign. The 10 story incubator spread over 50 thousand square feet area provides a high speed internet system and other facilities to the start ups.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also opened two separate 4-storey dormitories, a 6 storey multi-purpose training building with a state-of-the-art auditorium having a capacity of 250 people, and four compute cum seminar rooms with a capacity of 50 people.
An Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab, a machine learning lab, an optical fibre backbone, a substation and a solar panel are also being set up.
