The Final Award giving & closing ceremony of Digital Innovation Challenge for Women 2017 was held on the 14th of October in Krishibid Institute Bangladesh Complex. With the aim of encouraging women to actively participate in technology related business, it was hosted by Women in Digital and powered by Microsoft. The event was successfully executed with The Daily Star as associate partner and a total of 265 women took part in the event.
Honorable State Minister of Posts, Telecommunications & Information Technology, Zunaid Ahmen Palak graced the event with his presence and stated, “Digital Bangladesh is a philosophy of revolution. The prosperity of our digital Bangladesh depends on the young generation. They have to be keen to learn and this willingness to learn will help them win the whole world.”
While special guest, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology who was also present concluded, “ICT can change the whole environment of Bangladesh and it will go far. The works and development of today’s women over ICT platform is really admirable. So, all girls have to come forward not like a girl, but like an innovative person.”
The event was made even more auspicious with the presence of managing director at Microsoft, Sonia Bashir Kabir who expressed her gratitude to the participants and hopes for more success for them in the future and on that note, Achia Khaleda Nila, the founder of Women in Digital further elaborated, “Programming and innovation of Bengali women creativity will add new dimensions to the development of the country. In the coming days, the participation of women in the development of technology innovation will increase, which will play an important role in empowering women in our ICT sector.”
In addition to the aforementioned, Abul Khair Patwary, Mayor Ramgonj Pouroshova, Lakshmipur and chief advisor of Women In Digital & Chairman at Patwary Trade International, Towhid Hossain and Managing Director & CEO at FIFOTech among others also contributed in making sure that the event was a successful one.
The journey began with 192 teams but only 8 made it to the final. It wasn’t an easy road as the teams had to endure presentation, design prototypes of their ideas and come up with full proof business plans. The aim of their projects was to mitigate issues in the medical, security, traffic and education sectors that need immediate addressing with the aid of their mentors. The mentor board boasted the likes of Rezwana Khan, Chief Operating Officer at Star Computer Systems Limited, Sayma Rahman, Digital Partnership Manager, Grameenphone Ltd, Jannat Ul Fardoush Hira, Senior Graphic Designer at Magnito Digital, Md. Sohan Haidear, Senior Executive & Social Media Marketing at The Daily Star among others. After various rounds of screening, it was announced that Automated Portable Bio Plant was victorious with Harano Biggapti & Super donor as joint runners up and Teacher’s Time as second runners up. The event was a reflection of how talented Bangladeshi women are in the ICT sector and was also a great platform for them to showcase their talents.