To make digital devices easily available to students, a policy needs to be developed in coordination with various government ministries, educational institutions, banks and financial institutions, and corporate organizations. The government and private sector stakeholders believe that if this policy is developed for lending digital devices, it will be possible to contribute thousands of crores of taka to the country’s economy, a press release said.
Speakers made these remarks at a seminar titled ‘Access to Finance Towards Opportunities: Financing Digital Devices for Students to Build an Intelligent Society’ at the Digital Device and Innovation Expo 2026 organized at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in Agargaon, Agargaon, on Friday, January 30 morning.
Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) President Mohammad Zahirul Islam presented the keynote speech titled ‘Dreams Stopping Must Be Changed’.
In his speech, he said that the use of devices in the country should be increased. To do that, the devices must be made easily available. The use of smart devices in the country must be increased to at least 80 percent; this will create a major obstacle in the way of moving Bangladesh forward.
He emphasized on providing loans to the country’s students to purchase digital devices on easy terms. He called on Bangladesh Bank, the government and banks to provide low-interest, and even interest-free, loans to students. He spoke about the need to create a separate policy for digital device loans to enhance the skills of students, like agricultural loans.
Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Founder and Managing Director of Buildcon Consultancy Limited, presided over the seminar.
National University Vice Chancellor Dr. ASM Amanullah, Additional Secretary of the ICT Department (Organizational Support Wing) Mohammad Anwar Uddin, Digital Development Specialist of the World Bank Suparna Roy, Additional Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Department of the Ministry of Education Alif Rudaba, Physician and Media Personality and Analyst Abdun Noor Tushar and Managing Director and CEO of Axetech PLC Adil Hossain Noble.
Mahtab Uddin said, the biggest challenge in lending digital devices to students is credibility. In many cases, we give loans knowing that they will not be returned, but still there is no question about it. But when it comes to students, the matter is questioned. That is why we need a clear policy.
National University Vice Chancellor Dr. ASM Amanullah highlighted some negative aspects of the country’s education system and said, National University is the second largest university in the world. Although about one million students graduate every year, only 10 percent are involved in the industry. That is, there is no connection between industry and academia. As a result, they lag behind in the job market and create a credibility crisis. These large number of students do not have the necessary devices. If they get devices, they can earn several thousand crores of taka annually.
Alif Rudaba, Additional Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Department of the Ministry of Education, said that although the government is working on course financing, there is no device financing system for students. Because the duration of the projects we have taken is short-term and it is directly related to loan recovery.
Suparna Roy, Digital Development Specialist at the World Bank, said that risk management is very important according to global experience in device financing. Students must have digital identities, data sharing with banks and other institutions with educational institutions, and MFS connectivity. This will make tracking easier and loan repayment will also be easier. In addition, a subsidy model can also be worked on, which is done by the World Bank.
Mohammad Anwar Uddin, Additional Secretary of the ICT Department (Organizational Support Wing), said that if the skills of the youth can be developed, they will be able to earn foreign income without going abroad. Internet is now available in almost every upazila and village; The question is how secure its accessibility is. To bring the youth into the mainstream, we need to work on device policy and financing, which can be started from the secondary level.
Adil Hossain Noble, Managing Director and CEO of Axetech PLC, said that although the corporate sector is considered safe in terms of device financing, it is often not possible to obtain financing from there. In the case of students, the matter is more complicated. Banks may not be interested in providing direct financing at this level. Therefore, a new model must be developed and moved forward.
Abdun Noor Tushar, a physician and media personality and analyst, said that everyone is interested in providing digital device loans to students, but it must be through the right policy. Currently, the prices of chips, memory and RAM are increasing in the global market, which is also affecting the domestic hardware market. In addition, software companies are also taking control of hardware. Therefore, a national policy regarding devices is needed first.
He also said that the students who will be given device loans should be trained to develop their skills and a monitoring system should be put in place to ensure positive use of the devices. Whatever policy the government adopts, it should be long-term and move towards self-sufficiency by increasing domestic device production.
