ICT Division startup offers seed capital to persons with disabilities

Persons with disabilities who have ICT skills training and want to become entrepreneurs will be eligible for working capital loans ranging from Tk50,000 to Tk10 lakh through the ICT division's Startup Bangladesh Limited project, State Minister for ICT division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said.

He announced organising an entrepreneur conference along with a job fair for people with disabilities from next year.

Palak made the announcement on Saturday at the inauguration of the day-long Job Fair 2023 for persons with disabilities organised by the Bangladesh Computer Council in collaboration with the Center for Services and Information on Disability.

A total of 54 ICT-based organisations participated in the fair held in the office building of the NGO Bureau at Agargaon in the capital.

The Bangladesh Computer Council and the ICT division have been organising the job fair for the past eight years with the aim of providing dignified livelihood and employment for persons with disabilities.

At the event, the ICT minister stressed the use of technology to banish any discrimination and existing biases.

He called for better employment of educated persons with disabilities by making the best use of technology, saying the  "Job Fair for the Disabled Persons" will create a bridge between employers and job aspirants.

The state minister said efforts should be made towards the goal of making persons with mental or physical disabilities to become self-sufficient through the use of technology instead of depending on others.

He pointed out that a Talking White Stick has been developed through the A2I project of the ICT division for the visually-impaired.

"This white stick warns a visually-impaired person before they touch or bump into another person or object," Palak said.

About 450 job seekers with disabilities from all over the country participated in the fair.

Earlier, about 500 persons with disabilities submitted their CVs online.

The organisations participating in the fair conducted interviews to recruit those who have IT skills.

It is expected that 40-50 persons with disabilities will get employment opportunities while 150-200 job aspirants will be shortlisted from this fair for interviews for subsequent recruitment.