upay accelerates digital economy at Freelancer meetup

Business Desk :
The mobile financial service provider `upay’ recently organized a meetup with local freelancers and industry experts in order to explore the potentials and to support meeting the challenges faced by the freelancers.
The event, held at United Commercial Bank PLC Head Office in Gulshan, Dhaka, elaborated on the theme of “Freelancers’ Contribution to Building Smart Bangladesh and MFS as Growth Facilitator”, was attended by UCB and upay top officials, including ATM Tahmiduzzaman, AMD of UCB, and Member of the Board of Directors, upay and Syed Enamul Kabir, CFO, Md. Moulude Hossain, Deputy General Manager, Strategy and Product from upay.
Munir Hasan, Chief Coordinator, Digital Transformation and Youth Programme, Prothom Alo, conducted the session at the event with over 30 freelancers from different backgrounds, professions and age groups.
Discussions at the event primarily focused on the growing freelance industry in Bangladesh, the underlying potentials, and how to create the ground to extract the maximum out of the industry through similar partnerships. Munir Hasan, said, “Our freelancers face many obstacles, including insufficient daily and monthly transaction limits, currency conversion, and incentives-related issues. However, the situation is improving, and new channels are being introduced. However, we have to expedite this journey. To do this, the government should take time-befitting initiatives. Besides, banks can also take effective measures, including launching financial literacy campaigns to help the freelancing sector move forward. In this regard, I commend the efforts of UCB and upay. Partnering with Payoneer to introduce a payment gateway facility for freelancers around the country will, consequently, contribute to the growth of the freelancing sector.”
ATM Tahmiduzzaman said, “Last year, the World Trade Organization stated in their report that 14 percent of the world’s total freelancer population reside in Bangladesh. If we can equip this population with the right tools and timely solutions, our economy is sure to find an added momentum in no time. Our hon’ble PM and the Government have been emphasizing on the realization of a smart nation through a digital economy.