The School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) in association with Independent Beta Elites (Finance Club) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) successfully organized webinar – “FinTech and Beyond COVID-19”. The webinar had over 120 participants and was conducted by the poster boy of FinTech in Bangladesh: bKash.
The webinar was opened with a welcome note from Prof. Sarwar Uddin Ahmed Dean (Acting) of School of Business and Entrepreneurship, IUB. Prof. Sarwar pointed out that FinTech is an innovative tool and it is already gaining momentum in Bangladesh as many companies have embraced the power of FinTech to ensure sustainability and growth in their respective companies. He also added that IUB always tries to come up with unique initiatives to ensure capacity development of students. Prof. Sarwar also said that IUB tries to prepare students for the job market by equipping them with the right soft skills which will help them shine in the post COVID-19 workplace.
The session also included speeches from Dr. Samiul Parvez, Head & Associate Professor, Department of Finance, IUB and Mr. Fahad Noor, Senior Lecturer, IUB. They both talked about the importance of FinTech and understanding the changing dynamics of the job market and how embracing technology the key is to be succeeding in career.
Mr. Sayeed Nasir, Head of Talent Acquisition and Organizational Development, bKash and Amitabh Roy, General Manager, Finance, Business Partnering and Pricing, bKash conducted the webinar. Mr. Nasir added that it is essential for students to have a sound understanding about emerging skills like creativity and innovation, adaptability, data science, artificial intelligence, digital and coding and so on. In addition, Mr. Roy shed light on the journey of bKash and how they have played a key role in stirring the FinTech revolution in Bangladesh. He also added that graduates must have effective time management skills to succeed in career and encouraged students to not only look for jobs; but also aspire to be entrepreneurs.
After the keynote speakers conducted the workshop a question-answer session was held where students directly asked questions to bKash. This session was facilitated by Abu Usuf Md. Rashedul Amin, DGM, Employer Branding & Talent Acquisition, HR Division, bKash.
The session was ended with a closing note from Mr. Zubayer Zakir Khan, Adjunct Faculty and Internship Coordinator, School of Business and Entrepreneurship, IUB. Furthermore, Mr. Zubayer added that FinTech can be the most powerful weapon to fight poverty by ensuring financial inclusion programmes across the country. He also stressed on the importance of skills like Emotional Intelligence which is an essential component of succeeding at the post COVID-19 workplace.
