Using tech to bridge learning, skills gap

As the economy continues to thrive and the middle class continues to grow, education and skills improvements will be the most important factors for upward social mobility, said Shahir Chowdhury, co-founder and CEO of Shikho, an educational technology start-up.

"Even with our best combined efforts it will be an impossible challenge to meet the demand for learning using a traditional supply of teachers and methods," he said.

"As such, we are solving a fundamental demand-supply mismatch and technology must be our bridge to close the learning and skills gap by improving accessibility and therefore helping ensure that Bangladesh can be a force that it wants to become as we proudly graduate to middle-income status," he added.

He was speaking at the 20th Bangladesh Business Awards ceremony at the capital's Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.

Chowdhury went on to say that Shikho uses technology to democratise access to high-quality Bangla-instruction learning, by removing barriers of geography and affordability.

"I use the word democratise because it should not matter if you live in a city or a more remote part of Bangladesh. This is made possible today by harnessing the power of the internet and using smartphones as the medium to disseminate at scale," he said.

"We are working to build a digital learning ecosystem that has students at the centre but also keeps in mind all other stakeholders, such as parents, educators, schools and the many other institutions that play a crucial role in education in Bangladesh," he added.

Over the last three years, Shikho has raised over $5.5 million in investment from global venture capital firms from Silicon Valley and Singapore to locally build a world-class, supplementary, digital learning solution for the Bangla speaking learner.

Chowdhury then said building scalable technology systems that can add value to millions of learners is equally important.

"8 lakh registered-learners at Shikho are able to test themselves directly on our app or website," he added.