Huawei, bKash strengthen partnership to support SDGs

Huawei and bKash agreed to deepen partnership in Bangladesh to further drive financial inclusion and enable more people to participate in and benefit from digital economy in the country.

bKash, a mobile payment operator, provides mobile financial services to 68 million people, caters to every family in Bangladesh. Huawei powers bKash's services with its cutting-edge digital finance solutions, said a press release.

To take the journey forward, Pan Junfeng, president, Huawei South Asia Region & CEO, Huawei Bangladesh and Kamal Quadir, founder and CEO of bKash signed an MoU at Huawei Bangladesh Academy on Wednesday (29 March) in the capital.

Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony titled "Smart Fintech: Inclusive. Innovative. Inspiring Bangladesh'', Kamal Quadir, founder and CEO of bKash highlighted the significance of the partnership.

"Financial inclusion and inclusive services have been part of bKash's DNA since its inception in 2011. At the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, we are working tirelessly towards a digital financial ecosystem and becoming a Smart Nation. The joint effort of bKash and Huawei aims at driving financial inclusion and eliminating poverty for SDGs with innovative solutions," said Kamal.

According to the media release, since development of the current FinTech products, Huawei has deployed its platform across more than 30 markets in Asia and Africa. In total, Huawei's FinTech solutions are being used by over 400 million people worldwide.

Pan Junfeng, president, Huawei South Asia Region & CEO, Huawei Bangladesh, said the strengthened partnership between Huawei and bKash in Bangladesh aims to drive digital inclusion in the country.

"Since 2017, Huawei has been working closely with bKash in digitalizing its MFS with the leading Mobile Money platform. The platform offers services such as e-wallet and Nano-loan, bringing financial inclusion and innovation to local communities. Moving forward, we will continue to deepen our partnership to empower and enable more people in Bangladesh to seize the benefits of the digital economy for development. And I believe that our partnership will drive the growth of the digital economy in Bangladesh, setting a remarkable example to other EM countries in the region, when it comes to financial inclusion" said Pan.

Speaking at the event Sarder M Asaduzzaman, assistant resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme, highlighted the contribution of MFS in the development and in achieving the target of SDGs, "This initiative: smart fintech bringing an inclusive, innovative, and inspiring Bangladesh carries heavy weight and insights. I believe both Huawei and bKash agree and are working on that. And their further partnership will reinforce the whole initiative."

"SDG is the end goal, it is where we want to be in the 2030s. We are on the path and this Smart Fintech partnership is the vehicle that will drive us to get there." said Susan Vize, officer-in-charge of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Dhaka Office.