The government and IBM today announced a collaboration to launch the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP) for startups.
The program will help startups and entrepreneurs harness the power of IBM Cloud, and Watson APIs on Blumix, said a press release.
The qualified startups will receive mentoring, IBM Cloud credits worth US$12,000 and advantage of leveraging IBM cognitive, IBM Cloud to scale their business.
It will also deeply connect and embed them into IBM’s vast global network of enterprise clients, consultants, and innovation centers to help rapidly build innovations, scale quickly and accelerate growth.
Both the sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here today. Prior to signing the MoU, state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Chairman and CEO of IBM Asia Pacific Randy Walker held a meeting.
IBM representatives said the startup ecosystem in Bangladesh has grown over the last five years. With the tremendous growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector and a push from the government, the startups are now getting many platforms to showcase their innovation.
“Under the bold leadership of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and with the close mentoring of our ICT Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Sajeeb Wazed, Bangladesh government has been working for the last eight years for stimulating innovation and creating a startup ecosystem through some initiatives,” said Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
As part of the program, the Bluemix platform-as-a-Service includes access to over 150 services including Watson, Cloudant (non-dedicated) and Performance Management. In addition, the Cloud infrastructure-as-a-Service credits can be used on dedicated servers, cloud servers, or a hybrid of both.
Via face-to-face events and CIO and entrepreneur meet-ups, IBM will provide young, emerging tech companies with the exposure, connections, and partnerships which are critical in the early stages of growth. As they develop products and scale, entrepreneurs will also be provided with technical support and consulting through IBM’s physical and global network.
Secretary of ICT Division Shubir Kishor Chowdhury, Additional secretary Harun or Rashid, Randy Walketr, Chairman and CEO, IBM Asia Pacific; Vivek Vashista, Country Leader, Government and Regulatory Affairs of IBM and senior officials from ICT Division and IBM also took part in the event, reports BSS.
