Salah Uddin Ahmed (Sina) XayanIT Bangladesh sinabd@gmail.com

Salah Uddin Ahmed is the co-founder, Chief Software Engineer and Chief Operating Officer of XayanIT, an organisation which works with the youth interested in ICT careers. The mission of the organisation is to provide, quality, customised, cost effective ICT consultation, managed services, and web/software R&D that serve clients in Bangladesh and around the world and at the same time to create self-funding, fully sustainable and socially impactful ICT employment for the skilled Bangladeshi youth.

What are the main focus of activities of your organisation?
XayanIT works with skilled youth interested in Information and Communications Technologay (ICT) careers. It coordinates Human Resource Development (HRD) which uses relevant ICT training, certifications, internships, R&D projects and field work to develop students into skilled and employable individuals. It manages HRD by working closely with organisations that have a stake in education and analyses existing curricula and assesses curriculum needs. Businesses, NGOs, and universities are key partners in making the internships, field studies, R&D projects, and relevant training curricula possible.

XayanIT’s business is built upon using these skilled youth as entry level employees for providing the company’s web/software products and services. In its initial phases, XayanIT is focused on creating localised educational turnkey solutions for the education sector and web design and development for domestic and international clients.

XayanIT’s business success leverages its strong connections with educational institutions, businesses, NGO, and individual mentor networks in Bangladesh, Australia, and the United States.

How long and in what way you are associated with this organisation?
Xayan IT was formed in January 2005 and I am the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer.

In which key activities of your organisation you have played a major role so far?
In 8 months of operations with no external funding, we have created part time employment for two managers and five students. Ten students and five IT professionals have expressed immediate interest in joining. We were awarded a scholarship to attend a prestigious social venture incubator and are poised to expand in the second 6 months of our existence.

In which activities you would like to involve yourself more for the development of the society and youth?
One of our future goal is to set up a centre of ICT for Development in the University of Dhaka. My association with the university will help me set up the centre but requires a huge budget. University of Dhaka has always played the major role on every social and political critical situations of Bangladesh. Top 1 percent of the whole youth population gets the chance to admit in this university and they played the roles before. So why don’t they again play the major role for the development of the country and poverty reduction through ICT?

Do you think that ‘digital divide’ is a major issue in the development of the youth in the developing nations?
Digital divide is certainly one of the major issue in development of the youth in the developing nations like Bangladesh. But basic education and bare necessities of life are absent for more than 50 percent of the population who stay below poverty line earning less than a Dollar per day.

Which factors have played remarkable role as the main inspirational factors behind your recent success?
My close association with the Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering of the University of Dhaka and business mentorship from Peter Young and Jon Rodrigues have helped me achieve this success.

What message you would like to convey to the youth as a winner of this youth award?
Because of unemployment, poverty and lack of opportunities many youths fails to focus concentrating on their goals. My message to the youth is “hard work, punctuality, concentration and keeping focus always for the goal can bring you the success, no matter wherever you are and whatever the situation is.”

Will this achievement help you in your future initiatives? If so, how?
This achievement will help me for all my future initiatives and activities to help our country and youths to prosper socially and economically. e-Inclusion can be more accommodated with the help of partnerships and networking opportunities arranged by GKP in Tunis.