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Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan has said the government has taken a new initiative to create employment opportunities for young people and develop them as entrepreneurs by harnessing the country’s demographic dividend.
The formal activities of the entrepreneurship project, titled “Udyog”, will begin soon, he said.
He made the remarks at a press conference held at the conference hall of Bangladesh Bank’s Motijheel office on Thursday.
Arif Hossain Khan said increasing employment opportunities abroad and engaging the country’s young population in productive sectors were among the new government’s key priorities.
“If we can properly utilise the current demographic dividend, Bangladesh will move further towards becoming a high-income country. However, this advantage will decline within the next 20 to 25 years. Therefore, we need to develop skilled human resources before that,” he said.
He said the education system should be made more employment-oriented and profession-based so that students develop an entrepreneurial mindset alongside preparing for jobs.
Under the entrepreneurship project, eight districts—one from each administrative division—have initially been selected. A total of 640 promising young people will be selected from 64 upazilas in these districts and provided with financial assistance, marketing support, technical assistance and mentoring.
“The main objective of the project is to turn young people from job seekers into job creators,” the Bangladesh Bank spokesperson said.
He said young people with innovative ideas and entrepreneurial potential would receive the necessary financing and other forms of support. Banks and development partners will also participate in the initiative, he added.
Arif Hossain Khan said young people would play an important role in the country’s economic development and foreign exchange earnings.
“In particular, remittances sent by young migrant workers are playing an important role in strengthening the country’s economy,” he said.
