NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, May 23, 2011

Innovative use of communication technology, inclusive marketing and tie-ups between private firms and charities can cut poverty at a speedy rate in rural Bangladesh, top executives of multinationals said Thursday.

Some 32 per cent of Bangladesh’s 150 million people live below the poverty line with the rate of poverty halving since 1990, according to the official statistics. Most of these people live in rural areas, small towns and urban slums.

But top executives of multinationals operating in the country said poverty-cut could be accelerated even faster if private firms come up with innovative business ideas, bringing better healthcare, food and digital technology to the hardcore poor.

They said Bangladesh with a large population offers unique opportunities for the private sector to make positive impact on the lives of poor by using new business models, which would also secure their profit.

Arild Kaale, chief marketing officer of Grameenphone, the country’s largest mobile phone operator, said use of digital technology like mobile phone has already brought positive changes in rural life and telecommunications could be a major tool for fighting poverty in Bangladesh.