'Connectivity is productivity, productivity is connectivity'

Take the Dhaka-Chattogram route for example. It would take up to 12 hours to cover the distance of only around 250 kilometres. With time, the country's most important highway alongside the other roads went through a massive facelift, cutting short both travel time and costs, as well as contributing significantly to our economic upliftment. 

Of late, our dream Padma Bridge has given a different meaning to connectivity – it has been a watershed moment for our country's connectivity. What would take 14-15 hours earlier, takes three to four hours at most. This easy and faster connectivity to the southwestern region is expected to add 1.2% to our gross domestic product in a year. 

The Dhaka Metro Rail, once it becomes fully operational in October, will yield a similar boost to productivity and connectivity, eliminating the productivity loss that ensues from sitting hours in the traffic.

Like physical connectivity, digital connectivity can do wonders for our productivity and efficiency. 

Around 25 years ago, Grameenphone and Citycell brought about a revolutionary change in communication with the introduction of cellular connectivity across the country. This enhanced our efficiency manifold.

Then in 2008, another boost to our productivity came with the vision of Digital Bangladesh, which made mobile internet affordable. We could review and sign off on important documents, take consequential decisions and stay updated on the go, even while stuck in the gridlocked streets of Dhaka.

The Digital Bangladesh vision brought us another innovation and efficiency boost: mobile financial service.

In 2011, Dutch Bangla forayed into the mobile money domain. A few years later, Nagad entered the fray to further expand financial connectivity and help to materialise the Prime Minister's Digital Bangladesh Vision. 

We introduced people to quite a few ground-breaking innovations that eventually changed the country's overall financial ecosystem and helped bring down the cost of doing business.

Our introduction of the electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) methodology in the country built on the Election Commission database is helping customers open mobile financial services and bank accounts within minutes. 

This innovation changed the logistics of customer onboarding in the country. The other MFS providers, banks and non-bank financial institutions have embraced this innovation, which has lowered their costs of doing business and also led to the financial inclusion of more and more unbanked people.

Later, considering the lower smartphone penetration in villages, Nagad came up with an even more simplified customer acquisition process: anyone can open a Nagad account by just dialling *167# from any basic phone.

This has taken financial connectivity from the urban centres to the remotest parts of the country. 

With these innovations and service benefits, Nagad has already acquired more than 7.5 crore registered customers, with daily transactions standing at more than Tk 1,000 crore on an average.

Recently, Nagad has played a crucial part in introducing a digital toll collection system on the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover in the capital. This has ensured hassle-free toll payment services for vehicles travelling on this flyover. 

The Padma Bridge needs also to be brought under digital toll collection to ensure uninterrupted crossing of vehicles through the bridge, as in advanced nations.

By digitalising toll collection in bridges, we can ensure faster vehicular movement on important routes, which will eventually add value to our economy.

People are now using mobile phones to send money to family members, pay utility bills or recharge their mobile phones. The government is also disbursing safety net allowances and education stipends to crores of families using Nagad.

Such a quick rise in financial connectivity has been possible because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Digital Bangladesh vision, which essentially calls for greater connectivity. 

She wanted to see a digitally-connected Bangladesh where all services would be available online – without the need for any cumbersome paperwork. 

And, she also wanted to see the country connected with roads and railways to build a prosperous country. 

The PM also has delivered on her pledges as we now can see almost all aspects of Bangladesh have gone digital, from land registration to healthcare services and so on.

The possibilities are endless and we must keep working as we have the Smart Bangladesh goal to achieve by 2041.

A smart Bangladesh would be a fully connected Bangladesh in all spheres. Imagine all the gains that will be unlocked then. 

TBS Sketch

The writer is the founder and managing director of Nagad Limited.