The country should create new entrepreneurs, giving priority to knowledge and technology, experts said on Friday.
To become a developed economy by 2041, there is no alternative to Bangladesh for fostering entrepreneurship with required policy, fund and other support, they added.
They made the remarks at a two-day entrepreneurs' summit held at the University of Asia Pacific in the city's Farmgate area.
Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN) with support from IPDC Finance Limited and the UAP organised the summit on 'IPDC Finance Uddokta Summit 2018.'
The UAP vice chancellor Dr Jamilur Reza Choudhury attended the opening ceremony as the chief guest, while executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Kazi M. Aminul Islam was the special guest.
Managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the IPDC Mominul Islam and general secretary of BdOSN Munir Hasan spoke at the opening ceremony, among others.
Addressing the ceremony, Dr Choudhury said Bangladesh's economic development so far is noteworthy, but it is not yet ready to tackle the challenges waiting in the coming years.
"We achieved economic growth mostly exploiting the labour in the past decades, which will be of no use in near future," he said.
"Skilled manpower, knowledge and use of technology will be essential for driving the economy to its desired trajectory then," he added.
Highlighting the prospect for information technology (IT)-based services for new entrepreneurs, the educationist said the authorities concerned should properly ensure the intellectual property rights of innovation made by the country's young people.
Kazi M. Aminul Islam said IT-enabled services (ITES) are now making substantial contribution to Bangladesh's economy, which was unimaginable even a decade ago.
"The country must create more skilled and knowledge-based entrepreneurs for ensuring growth in the changing global scenario," he said.
Bangladesh wants to become a developed nation by 2041 from only $300 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at present, he said, adding that over 10 per cent growth per year will be required to achieve the goal.
"We cannot reach the goal without producing new generation entrepreneurs in the next 23 years," he said, adding that around 2.3 million young people join the workforce per year, but many of them remain unemployed.
Despite huge number of workforce, the country still lacks skilled people, he said. According to the organisers, the summit is focused on knowledge sharing, training, networking, match making among the entrepreneurs.
Around 500 participants from different parts of Bangladesh are taking part in 10 sessions and four workshops on various issues related to entrepreneurship.
Besides, 45 entrepreneurs are showcasing their products and services at the summit venue.
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