Bangladesh’s tech sector faced unprecedented challenges due to a five-day internet blackout followed by sociopolitical instability, which led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The blackout, initiated to defuse protests against government job reservations, severely impacted the tech industry, resulting in estimated losses of $300 million.
Key companies like Pathao and Chaldal had to quickly adapt. Pathao, a major e-commerce and logistics firm, halted deliveries initially and later resumed operations by navigating offline and using restaurant Wi-Fi. Chaldal, an online grocer, managed perishable goods by selling them to local vendors and tweaking its software to function offline.
Freelancers, who form a significant part of Bangladesh’s tech workforce, struggled to maintain client communications, leading to lost clients and reduced earnings. For instance, Shopify developer Aadi Roy lost four out of five clients and saw his income drop drastically.
The Bangladesh Freelancer Development Society is working to mitigate the fallout by engaging with freelancing platforms and clients. The appointment of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as interim prime minister is seen as a potential boost for the sector, leveraging his international reputation to restore and enhance the country’s IT market presence.
Overall, the crisis highlighted the tech sector’s vulnerability to internet disruptions and the need for robust contingency planning.