History of ASOCIO from 1984 to 1997

The countries of Asia Oceania have show tremendous growth potential over the years. Economies like China, Australia, Malaysia, Japan observed unprecedented growth over the years. The ICT sectors of these countries had major contributions in this development. To unite the ICT industries of these regions and ensure further growth ASOCIO has been working rigorously.

Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) was established in 1984 in Tokyo, Japan. The main objective of the organization was to develop the computing industry in the Asian Oceania region through the promotion of trade relationships between the countries. In June 1984, representatives of various information services industry in the Asia Oceanian region opted for the creation of an organization. This was followed by a promoters meeting in Tokyo in October where preliminary statutes and Plans of Activities of the organization were determined. The first ASOCIO General Assembly was also held in October in Japan where ICT Associations of various countries met including JISA ( Japan ), ASOCIO Australia (Australia ), KIIA (Korea), CISA (China , Taipei), NZCSA (New Zealand). Observers came from China , Hong Kong , Philippines and Singapore attended the meeting. In the meeting General Assembly- Ichiro Tanizawa of Japan was declared president, Kevin Morrisey of Australia was declared vice president, Y.T Lee of Korea was declared secretary and Fujimoto Kazuro of Japan was declared director.

The next year in May, at the second General Assembly, Singapore Federation of the Computer Industry became one of the founding members of ASOCIO. That year in September, third ASOCIO General Assembly was held where interim reports on ASOCIO Member Economies Activities were reviewed.

In October 1986, the fourth ASOCIO General Assembly meeting was held in Seoul, South Korea where Mr. Kevin Morrisey of Australia was declared the President of ASOCIO.

In November 1987, the fifth ASOCIO General Assembly meeting was held in Wellington, New Zealand where ASOCIO members adjusted their activities.

In December 1988, the sixth ASOCIO General Assembly was held in Taipei, China where Dr. Y. T. Lee of Korea was declared ASOCIO’s President. That year Malayasia’s ICT association, The Association of the Computer Industry Malaysia (PIKOM) was accepted as full member of ASOCIO. In that year’s general assembly, necessary amendments relating to membership were made to statutes.

In December 1989, the 7^th General Assembly was held in Singapore. A symposium themed “The Information Industry- Towards the 21^st Century” was also held. Members discussed about development plans and prospects for the software industry, environment and promoting computerization and information industry partnerships.

In June 1990, Officers meeting took place at Washington D.C. That same year in November, the 8^th General Assembly and Symposium of ASOCIO was held in Perth, Australia. Themed ‘Strategic Alliances’ the symposium was aimed at creating a platform for ASOCIO members to meet and forge alliances. In the General Assembly meeting, Mr. Noel Hon Chia Chun of Singapore was declared president.

In June 1991, ASOCIO officers’ meeting was held in Penang, Malaysia. That same year in November, the 9^th ASOCIO General Assembly and Symposium themed “IT Trade Incentives and Opportunities in the Asia-Oceania Region” was held. This year, the Association of Thai Computer Industry (ATCI) became the Vice-President in charge of ASOCIO General Assembly and Symposium.

In July 1992, ASOCIO officers meeting was held in Singapore. That same year in December, the 10^th General Assembly of ASOCIO was held in Bangkok, Thailand. A symposium themed “IT Business Opportunities in ASOCIO” was also held. This year, ASOCIO declared Mr. Richard Yin of CISA, China, Taipei, as the President of ASOCIO. Another noticeable feature of the event was the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) were accepted as guest members.

In June 1993 in Taipei, China, officers’ meeting was held and six strategic initiatives were established in the strategic planning session. The ASOCIO officers also visited various government offices including Institute of Information Industry with an aim to exchange information and understand the public policies with high-ranking government officers. In December of that year, the 11^th ASOCIO General Assembly was held in New Delhi, India. A symposium was also held. The them of the symposium was “IT Strategies for End-User Organization.” The ASOCIO members also visited the Ministry of Science and Technology.

In June 1994, ASOCIO officers’ meeting was held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. In December of that year, 12^th ASOCIO General Assembly and symposium was held. The theme of the symposium was “Software Market and Opportunities in Asian Oceanian Region and Intellectual Property Rights in ASOCIO Member Economies. Dr. Y. T. Lee of FKII (The Federation of Korean Information Industries) was declared president. On December 2, 1994, the 10-year Anniversary Banquet was held which invited the 26 honorable contributors and past Presidents of ASOCIO.

In July 1995, ASOCIO officers’ meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand where

eight strategic initiatives were established and a government visit program was arranged to meet with the head of NECTEC of Thailand. In November that year, 13^th ASOCIO General Assembly and Symposium was held. The themes of the symposium were: “Multimedia Applications for Information Super Highway", "Directions of Internet Business in ASOCIO" and "Present and Future of CALS in ASOCIO". Myung Oh, Minister of Construction and Transportation South Korea received ASOCIO IT Award 1995.

In May 1996, ASOCIO officers’ meeting was held in Auckland, New Zealand. The officers met with the senior government officials of New Zealand and Australia. In September that year, 14^th ASOCIO General Assembly was held in Singapore along with COMDEX Asia. At the same year Dr. F.C. Kohli of NASSCOM was elected ASOCIO’s President. Mr. Lim Swee Say, Chairman, National Computing Board (NCB), Singapore, received ASOCIO IT Award 1996. Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) and SEDISI (Spain) were accepted as associate member and guest member respectively. This year ASOCIO also made necessary amendments to its member statutes.

In June 1997, ASOCIO officer’s meeting was held in Taipei, China where five action plans were identified at the strategic planning session with an aim to create a “trans-century vision.” In addition, the ASOCIO officers also met with government officials. In November that year, in Tokyo, Japan, 15^th General Assembly and symposium themed “Staying Ahead in the IT World of the 21st Century” was organized. ASOCIO also awarded Dr. Hirose Inose, Director General, National Center for Science Information Systems, under the Ministry of Education, Japan, ASOCIO IT Award 1997. This year, Federation of Information Technology Industry, Sri Lanka (FITIS) was accepted as associate member.

Reference: http://www.asocio.org/history.php#2009

How ASOCIO Can Help IT Sector of Bangladesh?

Bangladesh has strong ties with Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) for quite some time. Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) arranged 1st Multilateral Trade Visit of ASOCIO on December 2001. Also, On July 2004, BCS hosted the Officers' Meeting, Strategic Planning Session, Executive Meeting and the 20th Anniversary Committtee Meeting. It is expected that sooner rather than later Bangladesh will host General Assembly meeting of the organization. With Abdullah H Kafi, Bangladesh has a very active representative in ASOCIO board. Bangladeshi IT companies can get benefited with ASOCIO.

The best thing that ASOCIO can do is to help to create a better image of Bangladesh add to the brand value of the country. Many people outside of the country have the image that Bangladesh is a country of natural disaster and political conflicts. ASOCIO can at least inform its member organizations about the positive aspects of the country. For example, Bangladesh is a country with continuous 5-6% economic growth. Here, mobile phone penetration is nearly 50%. In this country, the PC market is growing very rapidly. Bangladesh Computer Samity can boast of having 700+ members.

ASOCIO has already done something positive in this regard. In the Fifth edition of ASOCIO Connect, IT sector of Bangladesh has been highlighted. ASOCIO can create a place in its website in which there will be a lot of information about IT sector of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Computer Samity can surely provide the information. Thus, ASOCIO can provide more coverage to this country.

There are numerous events (IT Expo, Conference, Seminars etc) taking place in some of the richer ASOCIO member economies like Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. ASOCIO always encourages its members to visit and actively take part in any event taking place in any member country. It can try to arrange some discounts for Bangladeshi participants.

Inside the country, the IT sector of Bangladesh enjoys a lot of media coverage. However, outside of the country, the media coverage is negligible. ASOCIO can perhaps give some guidelines to Bangladesh Computer Samity about getting more media coverage outside of the country. 

Research is one area, ASOCIO can help Bangladeshi IT sector. Still, no significant survey has been carried out about the IT sector here. ASOCIO officials can request some other member countries to share their experience and skill about carrying out a large scale market survey in Bangladesh. 

ASOCIO: A Success Story

Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) is the most important organization dealing with information technology sector in Asia and Oceania region. It was set up in 1984 to promote better relationship among the IT companies in the Asian-Oceanian region. In the last 25 years, it has expanded its activities. Now, ASOCIO has around 10 thousand companies of the region under its umbrella. Thus, ASOCIO has emerged as the most inclusive organization about Information Technology in the Asian-Oceanian region.

In June 1984, there was a meeting in which Japan suggested that an organization should be created. In October 1984, the first General Assembly was held in which organizations from Japan, Australia , Korea , and Chinese Taipei attended and there were observers from China , Hong Kong , Philippines and Singapore . The current members of ASOCIO are: Japan , Australia , Bangladesh , Hong Kong , India , Indonesia , Korea , Laos , Malaysia , Mongolia , Myanmar , Nepal , New Zealand , Pakistan , Philippines , Singapore , Sri Lanka , Taiwan , Thailand and Vietnam .

ASOCIO also has seven guest members and they are USA , UK , Canada , Spain , France , Russia and Kenya .

If we take a look at the list of member countries then we will notice that many of the countries of East Asia, South Asia and South-East Asia are its members. Countries like Australia, Korea , Japan and Taiwan are among the leading manufacturers of hardware equipments in the world. On the other hand, India and Philippines are among the top names in outsourcing sector. Understanding the importance of ASOCIO, organizations from USA, UK , Canada , Spain , France , Russia and Kenya have become its guest members. It shows the potential of ASOCIO for the future.

The main objective of ASOCIO is to encourage, develop and co-ordinate the interest of the IT companies in the region. It also wants to contribute in the development of the IT industries of the member countries. It is also working to promote the interest of the IT industry of its members in the media.

To meet its major objectives, ASOCIO regularly carries out a number of activities. Every year, there are some events such as Business exchange mission, Multi-lateral Trade Visit, executive meeting etc. Also, it tries to promote the IT exhibitions and conferences to its members and thus, because of active encouragement from ASOCIO, now IT businessmen and leaders of member countries are visiting different countries a lot more than the past.

Only ten or fifteen years ago the relation between Asian countries in information technology was not that strong. The main idea was that Asian countries would only manufacture and give service to rich countries like USA, Canada and Europe. Now, because of active participation and encouragement from ASOCIO, the inter-relationship between Asian countries in IT sector is flourishing.

Ensuring better relationship among member countries, contributing in the increase of inter-trade among its members are perhaps the most important achievements of ASOCIO. As a result, the countries are slowly creating a market of their own and this indirectly is helping the economies of the member countries belonging to ASOCIO. Bangladesh is perhaps one of the major success stories. In the last one decade, the use of computer and internet has dramatically increased in the country.

ASOCIO has a very rich website with a lot of information about the information technology industry in Asia-Oceania. The address of the website is: http://www.asocio.org.

This website contains a lot of information and it can be very helpful for researchers, IT businessmen and journalists who are interested about the IT sector of Asia-Oceania.

ASOCIO officials are active and they are trying to contribute in the development of IT sector of the region. There is some more room for growth. One of things that can be done is to actively pursue members from the Middle East and Central Asia.  

Bangladesh is a member of ASOCIO and Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) is representing the country. Right now, Deputy President of Asocio is Abdullah H Kafi who is from Bangladesh. He has been very active in promoting ASOCIO in Bangladesh and at the same time promoting Bangladesh in ASOCIO.

The future of ASOCIO looks to be very promising as the future of Asia looks very promising.

Press Conference of BCS Digital Expo and ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010

Dear journalist friends,

At the press conference of “BCS Digital Expo 2010” and “ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010,” on behalf of the Executive committee members of BCS and BCS fair organizers, I welcome you all. We are very happy to inform you that within few days, we are going to organize a digital Lifestyle Exhibition where we would showcase various digital technologies, latest IT machineries, products, and services.

The four-day exhibition, titled “BCS Digital Expo 2010,” will start from March 31, 2010 to April 1, 2010. Simultaneously, at the same venue, from March 31, 2010, the ASOCIO Multi-Lateral Trade Visit 2010 will be held. You are well aware about the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative undertaken by our current government has been widely acclaimed both nationally and internationally. By organizing this exhibition and international trade visit, we, the members of BCS, show our support to the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative of the government. 

Today, we have gathered here to discuss about various aspects of the “BCS Digital Expo 2010” and “ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit” and collect your valuable feedbacks to make our endeavor more successful.

Dear journalist friends,

We are very happy to inform you that the hon'ble Prime Minister of Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, gave her consent to inaugurate “Digital Expo 2010” and “ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010” on March 31, 2010, as the chief guest. Among others, Finance Minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Commerce Minister Lieutenant Col.(Rtd) Faruk Khan and Yafes Osman, Science and ICT Minister, will be the special guest of the show. As special guests, Looi Kien Leong, President, ASOCIO, will be present at the show. Abdullah H. Kafi, Deputy President, ASOCIO, will be the honorable guest of the show. In addition, Michael Kuehner, Managing Director and CEO, AXIATA Ltd. and chairman of Southeast Bank Limited, Mr. Alamgir Kabir (FCA) will attend the show.

Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), in collaboration with ICT Business Promotion Council, an organization created under Ministry of Commerce, will organize “BCS Digital Expo 2010” for the second time. Simultaneously, another international show, “ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010” will be held at the same venue where representatives from ten countries of the Asian-Oceanian region will attend and discuss on different matters over promoting bi-lateral trade.

The Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) was established in 1984 with an aim to promote trade between various ICT organizations of different countries in the region. Since its inception, ASOCIO has been rigorously working towards encouraging and fostering trade relationships between its member organizations. In 1996, BCS became the member of ASOCIO and five years later, BCS organized the first Multilateral Trade Visit in Dhaka. It is a matter of great pride for BCS for it organized the first Multilateral Trade Visit of ASOCIO. Over the years, other member economies hosted the Multilateral Trade Visit of ASOCIO and after ten years, BCS is going to organize ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit for the second time.

One noticeable feature of “BCS Digital Expo 2010” and “ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010” is that for her valuable contribution in creating and implementing the “Digital Bangladesh” project, honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina will be given the prestigious ASOCIO Award. It is also a matter of great pride that for the first time, any head of the government in South Asia is receiving this award. Among the countries of Asia Oceania, previously, Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia (1998), Thaksin Shinawatra former Prime Minister of Thailand (2002) and Phan Văn Khải, former Prime Minister of Vietnam were the proud recipients of the ASOCIO Award.

My dear friends, a revolutionary change is taking place all over the world and at the helm of this change, is the new digital technology. From individual to society, luxury to necessity, work to leisure, everywhere, the digital technology is causing a silent revolution. If we cannot keep up with this new technology then we would not be able to reap its diversified benefits and we would not be able to attain our expected goal of improvement. Though a poor country, digital technology established itself in Bangladesh. For the overall improvement of the socio-economic condition of our country, we need to further ensure the prosperity of digital technology in this region through the promotion of digital technology in every sphere of our lives.

Judging the immense potential of the ICT sector in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, the current Prime Minister of the of Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, announced her “Vision 2021” under which, she introduced a project titled, “Digital Bangladesh.” On the other hand, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) has been playing a major role in promoting computer and ICT technology in Bangladesh. In 1993, BCS first organized its first IT-based exhibition and since then the organization has been successfully organizing various fairs and exhibitions either by itself or in collaboration under various titles all over Bangladesh.

In collaboration with the ICT Business Promotion Council, an organization under the Commerce Ministry of Bangladesh BCS will organize BCS Digital Expo 2010 at Sheraton Hotel. The show will start from March 31, 2010 and continue till April 3, 2010. Below are given the names of various products that would be exhibited by various organizations in the fair and other important facts about the BCS Digital Expo 2010:

At the BCS Digital Expo various technologies related to IT, computers and accessories, laptop, notebook, palmtop, iPod, mobile PDA and smart phone, multimedia projector, digital still and video camera, LCD monitor and television, digital photo frame, photo-printer, portable audio devices, wireless keyboard, mouse, USB mobile device, etc will be presented at the show. Visitors would be shown live demonstration of these products at the exhibition.

Various Internet networks including Wi-Max connectivity, Wi-Fi and other Internet technologies will be showcased at the exhibition.

The exhibition will also showcase various domestic and international software and multimedia products including audio-visual tutorials, digital education software, office and library management softwares. Along with softwares, various books and journals written by famous writers, digital edition of books and articles would be available at the show.

The BCS Digital Expo 2010 will also organize various seminars, roundtable discussions, technology presentation session.

Exchange of knowledge and views between ICT industry experts of the Asian Oceanian region over improvement and expansion of ICT and discussion about the past, present and future of the ICT sector in this region will also take place.

We hope and believe that this exhibition would bring together consumers, vendors and ICT industry experts.

The exhibition will have a Wi-Fi zone where users would be able to access the Internet for free. In addition, they would be given live demonstration of various new products and technologies.

The exhibition will organize quiz show, product ramping, cultural function and various other interesting and exciting events.

To promote various technological inventions by different institutions, BCS Digital Expo 2010 would also provide complementary stalls.

Dear journalist friends,

It is very important that we, at present, should determine our future goals and activities based on the current economic and political situation and education system of our country.

BCS Digital Expo 2010 is not just any traditional exhibition but an exhibition that would create new opportunities regarding new technologies and products in Bangladesh. It would simultaneously present new inventions and present digital lifestyle which never happened before in Bangladesh. Hence, in the face of building a digital Bangladesh, this exhibition is different from other ICT exhibitions of our country. We made sure that visitors get a taste of something new in this exhibition.

In this expo, several seminars have been arranged by BCS and sponsor companies. Along with it, the participating companies will arrange different kinds of competitions in order to promote their brands and products. On the third day of BCS Digital Expo 2010, the organizing committee will arrange children’s painting competition and it will take place on April 2, 2010, from 10.30 a.m.- 12.30 p.m. The competition will take place in three topics and age categories. In BCS Digital Expo 2010 venue, there will be a controlling center from BCS and all the activities will be managed from here. There will be a supporting team to help the visitors and participating companies to provide all out support. The security team will work to ensure safety. Apart from it, there will be a team consisting of reporters and photographers who will provide all the supports to the journalists. There will be a food court in the expo venue where people will be able to enjoy different kinds of food items and drinks.

The ticket price is taka 20. However, school students will be able to enter at free of charge by showing their identity cards. One of the new attractions of this fair is that the visitors would be able to buy tickets from their mobile phones.

I would like to inform you that to ensure the smooth functioning of the ICT Expo, an organizing committee and several sub-committees have been formed.

At the same time, in order to promote the ICT sector of Asia Oceania region, BCS and ASOCIO are going to jointly host ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010 from March 31, 2010 to April 1, 2010. In this event, ASOCIO President Looi Kien Leong will head the ASOCIO delegates and participants from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Pakistan etc. The ASOCIO representatives would meet the government and high officials of some organizations. Here it should be mentioned that ASOCIO is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. According to the decision of Executive Body of ASOCIO, honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, will be awarded 'ASOCIO ICT Special Recognition Award' for her special contribution to the development of the ICT sector of Bangladesh and planning and implementing the vision of “Digital Bangladesh.” In order to ensure the smooth operation of the ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010, a high-level organizing committee has been created and it will be headed by Abdully H. Kafi, the current Deputy President of ASOCIO and the former president of Bangladesh Computer Samity.

  

Dear Journalist friends,

Now, I like to remember with gratitude the enormous contribution of ICT journalist in the development of ICT sector of Bangladesh. I would particularly like to remember your contribution and thank you for helping Bangladesh Computer Samity and supporting all our activities by giving us due media coverage. I have no hesitation to say that the media has a lot of contribution in making Bangladesh Computer Samity popular and making our programs and activities acceptable to the ordinary people. Like the past, this time too, we expect all the support from the media and I like to remind you that we from BCS are ready to give you any kind of information and support you in every way. During the time of BCS Digital Expo 2010 and ASOCIO Multilateral Trade Visit 2010, the journalist can contact with the members of media committee and if they wish they even can directly contract with me. Also, BCS will provide updates of the events through two websites: http://www.bcs.org.bd  and http://www.bcsdigitalexpo.com.bd/ .

In the end, I like to thank all of you for your presence today and making this press conference a success.

Md. Shahid-Ul-Munir

Convener, BCS Digital Expo 2010

BCS Digital Expo 2010 at a glance

Theme: Towards digital Bangladesh.

Venue: Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, 1, Minto Road, Dhaka.

Date: March 31, 2010- April 3, 2010 everyday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Platinum sponsor: Axiata Bangladesh, Limited

Gold sponsor: Samsung, Microsoft

Official WiMAX partner: Banglalion Communications Ltd.

Official Bank: Southeast Bank Limited

Ticket counter sponsor: Caspersky.

Volunteer dress sponsor: United Computer Center.

Media partner: Desh TV, The Daily Samakal, Radio Today.

Internet connection: Fibre optic broadband connection, Wi-Fi, free Internet browsing zone.

Ticket price: Regular cost of ticket is taka 20. Upon showing leaflet visitors will get 50% discount. Students upon showing their ID will have freen entrance.

Number of exhibitors: 45

Number of pavilions and stalls: 20 and 42

Email: samity@bcs.org.bd, secretariat@bcs.org.bd

Website: www.bcsdigitalexpo.com.bd

Interview of Abdullah H Kafi about Canon, ASOCIO and ICT Sector of Bangladesh

This is an interview of Abdullah H Kafi, Vice President of Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO). He is also the CEO of JAN Associates and Former President, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS). I took this interview for Computer Bichitra (one of the leading computer magazines in Bangladesh) in or around October 2004 and then, it was published in the magazine. It was a long interview and. I hope that you will have the patience to go through it. Well, I wish you read it full because it contains a lot of information and insight views about ICT sector of Bangladesh. I am again reposting it today.

Mr. Abdullah H Kafi is one of the pioneering figures in the ICT industry of Bangladesh. He has been associated with this sector for more than 20 years and he has been successful in every aspect of this industry. He is a founding member of Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), the largest ICT trade organization of Bangladesh. In fact he worked in every position of the Executive Body of BCS including his presidency in the term 2000-2001. He is a very successful computer business entrepreneur and has turned JAN Associates as one of the largest and most successful Computer business farms of Bangladesh. JAN is the distributor of Canon System Products in Bangladesh. It is the most successful distributor of Canon in the Asia Pacific region. He has successfully completed the target of sales for the last nine years and has made Canon the most successful brand in terms of printing solutions in Bangladesh.

When he was the president of BCS he took some important initiatives for the Bangladesh IT sector. For example at that time BCS organized the first software show and also BCS carried out a survey on the ICT sector. The first ASOCIO (Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization) multilateral trade visit was held at Dhaka. His presidency would be remembered for lifting of monopoly on VSAT of BTTB. It is worth mentioning here that he was the convenor of the first BCS Computer show in 1993. His contribution in the development of the ICT sector is immense. He is also actively participating in the development of the ICT sector of Asia too.

In recognition of his contribution in ICT sector of this region ASOCIO has recently awarded him for his outstanding contribution in developing the ICT sector of this region for such a long-term. It is the most Prestigious honour for this region in the ICT sector and Mr. Kafi is the first Bangladeshi who is awarded. In addition to ASOCIO Mr. Kafi has close contact with WITSA (World Information Technology and Services Alliance). Recently he gave us a long interview where he talked freely about different issues. Here is the interview for our readers:

Razib Ahmed: I like to know about your personal background.

Abdullah H Kafi: I completed my SSC from Kushtia District School and the HSC from Kushtia College. Then I joined Geography Department of University of Dhaka. I finished my studies in 1980 and then I joined Center for Urban Studies. I did not have any attraction for government jobs as the salary was too little (1000 Taka) and then I always wanted to do something exciting in my life and not be limited to government bureaucracy.

I come from a well off family and I never had to suffer any financial hardship. As a number of my relatives were abroad, I wanted to leave my country as well. But then I changed my decision and stayed in my country to contribute in some way. In those days, most students had the dream to be doctors or engineers. Unfortunately I did not have the scope and then had to settle for studying Geography.

Razib Ahmed: How did you come in the computer sector?

Abdullah H Kafi: In 1974 when I was a student of Dhaka University I saw an advertisement about computer training in London in English daily. I was fascinated with it and written to my relatives (who lived in England) to find more information about it. However, my family and relatives were not so enthusiastic about it because to them studying at Oxford or Cambridge mattered, not going to England for a computer training course. I like to say here that I got admission in Dhaka Dental College too but my family did not like the idea of becoming a Dentist. I also got a scholarship to study at Russia but my family did not like to send me in any East European Country.

After I finished my studies at University of Dhaka, I saw an advertisement of a company. It stated an offer of a 2 months trainging on computer and the persons who would secure the top three positions in the exam after 2 months would be hired by the company. I topped in that course and I got a job as a programmer in the company in an attractive salary (more than twice of the government pay scale, Tk. 2000). It was an American Company and I started my job at the computer industry on 1 October 1981. My bosses became highly satisfied with my performance and increased my salary to Tk. 3500 after 3 months.

Razib Ahmed: What kind of works did you have to do then?

Abdullah H Kafi: After I joined that company I was asked to take classes or in other words teach students. At first, I felt discomfort because I did not have any teaching experience. My boss told me that in our life we could never realized our true potential unless we are in a challenging situation. I still remember this lesson today and I try to follow the same principle in my own organization. I have one advantage that I can realize the feelings of a person by looking at his/her eyes. I could easily understand if my students were satisfied or not with my teaching. From the first day of teaching, I started working very hard. Often I used to study at my office until midnight or suppose if I had a class at 9 AM I used to come to office at 7 AM and then prepared myself for the class. So, I studied much more when I was a teacher than my university days. This hard work brought good result for me and I earned good reputation as a dedicated and hard working teacher. Then Flora Limited offered me to take care of their computer business and they offered me almost double salary.

Razib Ahmed: In Flora what kind of works did you do? What was the condition of Flora at that time?

Abdullah H Kafi: At that time, I was seriously contemplating of going abroad. The Chairman of Flora, Mr. M. N. Islam, requested me to come to his office and talk to him. He told me that he wanted to start the computer business of Flora and offered me to take charge. I gave him some conditions such as I must get full freedom and also I would not go for any marketing. When I look back to my life I feel amused that 21 years ago I wanted to avoid marketing and now my profession is to make sure best marketing of Canon products. I tried to bring change in the way of computer business and brought some of my friends and put them in different positions in Flora Computers. Then I wrote to many International companies inculding EPSON and they invited us to talk to them in Singapore. Mr. Islam and I went to Singapore and talked to them. Then their representatives came to Dhaka and met us. Thus Flora developed the partnership with EPSON. I told you that I wanted to stay away from marketing but what happened that we could not do well in selling our products in the market. I felt bad about it and started to be active in this field. I tried to motivate and convince my relatives, friends and every person with whom I was close to and requested them to buy EPSON. I was so lucky that I got good co-operation from them. Here I specially like to mention the name of Mr. M A Matin with gratitude for his support in those days. He was in British American Tobacco and you know that they have a policy of using US products only whenever possible. Mr. Matin tried very sincerely to convince his decision-makers to go for EPSON. I also got success at UNDP, World Bank and some other multinational and donor organizations.

Razib Ahmed: What were the conditions of printers and the market of printers in those days?

Abdullah H Kafi: Except Flora who used to sell EPSON there were no other single company who used to sell only printers. But there were other companies who used to sell Seikosha, Oki and other brands. At that time, people would mainly buy dot matrix printers. There were no Ink Jet printers and Laser printer was in its early days. In fact, laser printers were too much expensive. A laser printer would cost over one hundred thousand taka and there were no color printers. The market was very small. I remember that in the year 1984 we sold 20 printers and we felt satisfied with it.

Razib Ahmed: What about the conditions of PCs in those days!

Abdullah H Kafi: The PC of that time would look like a child’s toy of today. The price of a PC was more than two lakh taka. The first PC I used had only 32 kilobyte RAM. It did not have any hard disk. The size of floppy disk was 8” and it had storage capacity of 70 kilobytes only. The monitor was 12” and of course monochrome.

Razib Ahmed: You just told that in those days the size of the market of computers was very small. Why did you feel the need for setting up an Association for the computer industry when the market and supplierswas so small?

Abdullah H Kafi: Yes, it is true that the market was very small compared to what it is today. However, some companies (both local and foreign) were operating and they found that they were facing more or less the same problems- Tax and duty related problems, importing, and payment, awareness etc. And we did not get proper co-operation from the government and decision makers. So, we felt the need for co-ordination among the companies. During those days one of our closest colleagues, Mr Moin Khan (Managing Director, Computer Sollutions Ltd) and I started to move around to contact all the companies. We talked to respectable figures like Mr. SM Kamal, who was the country Manager of IBM, MR. Aftabul Islam, Country Manager of NCR, Mr. Sajjad, Manager of IBM, Saiful Taha Shahid, Managing Director Beximco Computers and Didar Hossain of Graphics Information Systems. All of them felt excited and they asked me to arrange a lunch party in a Chinese restaurant. As Moin Khan and I were young naturally we had to work hard but all of them played very significant roles. Specially, Mr. SM Kamal who was like a mentor to all of us, and Mr. Aftabul Islam made all our works so much easier. That is why they rightfully were elected the President and the Vice President of first BCS Executive Council. The logo of BCS also has special significance. Mr. Hashem Khan, a prominent artist of Banglaesh, designed the logo of BCS. I must say that we were very lucky and grateful to Mr. Hashem Khan because he designed the logo at a time when he was very ill. This logo represents our nation. It has water lily shape and the colours of our national flag. I feel lucky to be related with its creation.

Razib Ahmed: Why did BCS take the initiative to start a Computer Show? Did you play any role in organizing the first BCS Computer Show in 1993?

Abdullah H Kafi: Although BCS was formed as a trade organization; its members in those days gave equal importance to make people aware about the computer technology as doing their business. Actually, we felt that if the common people did not know about this technology then Bangladesh would suffer in the long run. So we took the initiative in 1993 and all the members including our president of that time, Mr Sazzad Hussain requested me to play the key part and thus I became the convenor of the first BCS Computer Show. In this regard I must mention that apart from the executive committee such as Mr. sajjad hussain, Mr. Moin Khan, Mr SD Shahid, and others, Khan Akhter Aalm of Sigma Trade International provided us much encouragement that time. He told that if we needed then we could organize the Show in the roof of his house. His determination and enthusiasm moved all of us. And also, we were grateful to Mr. S M Kamal and Mr. Aftabul Islam for their total support and encouragement. I am saying these things because at that time BCS was not such a big organization like now. It even did not have a healthy fund to organize a grand fair. So, we had to do most of the works by ourselves. We organized our first fair at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel overcoming many obstacles. We had to think of our expenses in every step as we did not have money enough in our fund. We had to work day and night. Moin, Sajjad Bhai, Nazmul, Rana and Jabbar- all worked from our heart but we were still afraid whether enough people would turn up.

Extensive coverage created enormous interest among the people and visitors from all walks of life came to see the First BCS Computer Show. Mr. Shamshul Haque, the then Commerce Minister (now the Information Minister of this cabinet) inaugurated the show. It was a huge success for BCS and for the ICT sector of Bangladesh. I like to say that I might have been the convenor of the First BCS Computer Show but without the blind support of the pioneers the Show would have never become a success.

Here I like to thank the media for supporting us all the way from our first day. I must say that without the moral support from media BCS could never have been so successful. Especially we had been demanding zero duty on computers from our first day. But for a long time successive governments ignored this demand. However, the media motivated the people and in one stage this demand became a very popular one. As a result, the government yielded in 1998 and after it ICT became a household name in Bangladesh. I like to recall the contribution of Mr. Nazimuddin Mostan (of Daily Ittefaq), Late Prof M A Kader (founder of the monthly Computer Jagat), B I Lenin (Executive Editor of Computer Bichitra), Abir Hassan, Kamal Arsalan and many other journalists who dedicated in writing for the ICT sector. Thanks to their dedication, the people came to know about the importance of computer technology in modern life. The journalists played a vital role in making the people aware of computers and at the same time creating pressure on the government to implement ICT technology. In this regard I also like to remember the role of Mostafa Jabbar (of Ananda Computer and has made the popular Bangla software, Bijoy). He has been writing in the media for a long time.

Razib Ahmed: You were in every post of BCS Executive body. Please tell us something about your experience in working with BCS.

Abdullah H Kafi: I am obviously grateful to all the members of BCS who elected me to serve them. I feel that if a person wants to contribute then it does not matter what kind of post he is in. However, the leadership of the committee must appreciate this. Often I did the works of others and the others did which was my work. And this kind of liberty and fellow feeling existed in the past in BCS and I think that it something which is missing for the last few years.

Razib Ahmed: During your presidency you took some important initiatives. For example, during that time BCS first organized software fair, the government put an end to the monopoly on VSAT, ASOCIO multilateral trade visit and so on. You must have spent a very busy time.

Abdullah H Kafi: Another important event took place- the first ever survey on the ICT sector took place too. But I don’t like to take credit for them totally. Frankly speaking, the members of the Executive councils before my tenure prepared the ground for me to take charge and implement these things. I want to share with you one experience in this regard. When we tried to motivate the government to put an end to the monopoly of BTTB on VSAT so that the charge of using Internet came within the reach of the common people then I received all sorts of co-operations from many persons. Kamal Bhai, at that time was the President of BASIS. Sajjad Bhai (Former Country Manager IBM and former president of BCS), Aftab Bhai (President, AMCHAM & Former President, BCS), Atiqul Ahsan (the then Secretary General of BCS), Rafel Kabir of DNS group- all of us worked together and by providing data on Internet use and other kinds of suggestions. As a result, it helped us to significantly lower the licence fee of VSAT which was only US$3,500 per annum while prior to that it was US$96,000 per annum. I like to say that it was a cumulative effort. May be some of us were in the front side but we received outstanding support from many members of BCS. I have always tried to take suggestion from all the senior members of BCS and whatever has been achieved during my tenure I like to give due credit to all the members who have supported and guided me.

Razib Ahmed: You have received a special honour from ASOCIO. We know that ASOCIO honoured total 9 persons including you. How do you feel to be included in the same award with a legend like late Dewan Mehta?

Abdullah H Kafi: Of course it is one of the happiest moments for me in my life. I am happy for myself and also I am happy that the ICT sector of Bangladesh has received a rare honour. ASOCIO has given this award to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the organization. They mainly evaluated two things- contribution for the Asian ICT industry and contribution towards ASOCIO.

I personally think that Asia has huge potential in the ICT sector. We are strong in every side. And ASOCIO is providing the much needed leadership to the region. In the last few years ASOCIO is seriously working to bring the countries of this region closer.

Razib Ahmed: Now let us turn our attention from home to abroad. We have seen that you are among the few persons in the ICT sector of Bangladesh who tries to keep in touch with the rest of the world. When and why did you start to keep in touch with the international ICT arena?

Abdullah H Kafi: I always felt and still feel today that to make our ICT sector grow and flourish we need to have good relationship with the outside world. We need to develop brand image for our ICT industry in the world and to do so we must increase our interaction with the rest of the world. Although BCS started contacting the International ICT organizations since 1994 the contact was not so frequent. When I took charge as President, we focused on it and started contacting with ASOCIO, WITSA and other international organizations. Fortunately, at that time there was an Officers Meeting of ASOCIO in our neighboring country, Myanmar. S M Kamal, the then President of BASIS, Atique (Secretary General of BCS that time) and I joined the meeting. During the ASOCIO Officers meeting we proposed for an event where a single country could be focused. Our proposal was accepted and Mr. Harris Tan- the then President of ASOCIO formally announced that the first country for ASOCIO multilateral trade visit will be BCS and Bangladesh. Fortunately, the First ASOCIO multilateral trade visit was very successful and after that I develolped a close relationship with ASOCIO. They invite me in all their programs whether I am the president of BCS or not. In the same way, I have developed a close contact WITSA as it is the parent organization of ASOCIO.

Razib Ahmed: How would you evaluate the role of ASOCIO in Asia?

Abdullah H Kafi: ASOCIO as evolved a great deal over the years. In the west there are the central Asian nations and then in the east ASOCIO has China and Japan and in the west we have Australia and New Zealand. In the past, mainly the rich countries were its members and they had all the importance. However, in the last few years ASOCIO has become more open and democratic. For example, in the past, there were two levels of membership- full member and associate member. But now all are full members and have a say in the running of this organization. ASOCIO is no longer a club of rich countries only. ASOCIO is now giving importance to the economies of the countries and their industry leaders too. For example, their awarding me symbolizes the fact that ASOCIO is giving importance to poor countries as I am the only person who got the award from the poor countries of ASOCIO. It is not only a personal achievement for me but recognition of the contribution of poor countries in ASOCIO. May be I was a bit active and that is why they recognized my contribution. ASOCIO has also helped to form contact between country to country. For example, Korea has formed special relationship with Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal. Our BCS leaders should pursue aggressively to form special relations with rich and developed members of ASOCIO and since I have good contact with ASOCIO I can easily help Bangladesh to get the best. However, if our leadership are not active then we will lose a golden opportunity as other developing countries would use this opportunity. The same goes for WITSA too. Nepal and Sri Lanka have been greatly benefited from WITSA where as we failed. There are many scopes to get support from ASOCIO and WITSA.

Razib Ahmed: What is your view about the current industry leaders, decision-makers, academicians of the ICT sector of Bangladesh?

Abdullah H Kafi: I think we need to focus on quality. It is true that the quantity has increased but not the quality. I think that we need to show respects to the senior figures of ICT industry. Without the contributions of pioneers like S M Kamal, Aftabul Islam, Sajjad Hossain and others, the ICT industry could never become so large like now. We need to be more patient and honest and need to elect leaders who would work honestly. To develop the industry we need to focus on human resource. Actaully, we have not much to demand from the government except that the government ensures a proper environment for doing business like improving the condition of law and order. I respect the academicians. However, I like to tell some academicians that it is better to remain focused in one’s own area of expertise. It is the duty of the academicians to carry out quality research and develop human resources by training their students in the best way. They should not interfere the way we do business because they are not in this field.