London Bangla A Force for the community…
Shah Yousuf
A NEW platform which is seeking to encourage digital business was launched last Monday, 22nd March. The Platform – Pathfinder – has announced that it aims to catalyse innovation, growth, business opportunities.
The platform hopes that its work will lead to “sustainable inclusive growth in the Post-Covid digital economy.” The goal, say the people running it, is to “empower and inspire the next generation of technology entrepreneurs regardless of background but with a particular focus on women and young entrepreneurs.”
What that means was outlined at the launch webinar, which was attended by 140 people on Zoom and by over 2,000 people from twelve different countries on Facebook Live. The launch was chaired by Ifty Islam, CEO of Pathfinder, and began with a welcome from Bashir Ahmed, Chair of Pathfinder.
Speakers included:
•Ambassador Farooq Sobhan
•HE Saida Muna Tasneem
•Sherry Coutu, CBE, Serial Digital Entrepreneur
•Anne-Marie Main, Director, British Chamber of Commerce
•Peter Bishop, Editor, London Business Matters
•Professor Abdul Hannan Choudhury, Dean NSU Business School
•Professor Gurpreet Jagpal Pro-VC, Sussex University
•Anwar Ali, OBE;
•Abdus Hamid of the Conservative Party Science and Technology Forum;
•Anwar Hoque, Founder of UDES.
The speakers noted that Covid has accelerated a number of economic trends that were already in place, most notably the rapid growth of the digital economy in areas such as e-commerce, remote working and fintech. These shifts are structural and not temporary. Pathfinder believes that, “the seeds for longer term economic recovery and new opportunities for businesses and individuals is to embrace this digital transformation.”
Speaking at the launch, Muzahid Khan & Litu Mohiuddin, Pathfinder’s Deputy CEOs, outlined the platform’s strategic roadmap and noted that it operates as a members’ network for developing new digital entrepreneurship ideas and partnerships. The plan is to hold a series of webinars on a range of topics in the next 12 months. These will cover important themes relating to sub-sectors of the digital economy. They will be accompanied by concept papers and other research materials and the formation of focus groups in these areas.
The two Deputy CEOs will also be “establishing a Pathfinder Innovation Hub/Incubator as well as an Entrepreneurship Academy in partnership with other innovation hubs in the UK and other countries such as Bangladesh.”
Pathfinder CEO Ifty Islam said, “the launch of Pathfinder’s Digital Entrepreneurship Platform can play an important role in catalysing new digital businesses among the British Bangladesh Community.”
Bashir Ahmed, Chair of Pathfinder, said, “this is a great opportunity to energise and unleash the entrepreneurial potential of women and younger generation entrepreneurs. Pathfinder will also encourage collaboration and leveraging networks which are essential amid the platformification of the Digital Economy.”
●To view the platform, go to:
Pathfinder
●Read more about it:
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