Huawei taps bKash in Bangladesh

Huawei and bKash, Bangladesh’s largest mobile payment operator, have announced plans to deepen their partnership to promote financial inclusion and expand access to digital finance solutions in the country. The move will enable more people to participate in and benefit from the digital economy in Bangladesh. bKash provides mobile financial services to 68 million people and caters to every family in Bangladesh, while Huawei powers bKash’s services with its cutting-edge digital finance solutions.

The partnership was formalised with the signing of an MoU between Pan Junfeng, President, Huawei South Asia Region & CEO, Huawei Bangladesh, and Kamal Quadir, Founder and CEO of bKash at Huawei Bangladesh Academy on Wednesday, 29th March 2023 in Dhaka. The ceremony was titled “Smart Fintech: Inclusive. Innovative. Inspiring Bangladesh”. Kamal Quadir highlighted the significance of the partnership, saying, “The joint effort of bKash and Huawei aims at driving financial inclusion and eliminating poverty for SDGs with innovative solutions.”

Huawei has been working closely with bKash in Bangladesh since 2017, digitalising its mobile financial services with a leading mobile money platform. The platform offers services such as e-wallet and nano-loan, bringing financial inclusion and innovation to local communities. Huawei’s FinTech solutions are currently being used by over 400 million people worldwide in more than 30 markets in Asia and Africa. Huawei’s Pan Junfeng added that the strengthened partnership with bKash in Bangladesh aims to drive digital inclusion in the country and empower more people to seize the benefits of the digital economy for development.

The partnership between Huawei and bKash has been welcomed by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Speaking at the event, Sarder M Asaduzzaman, Assistant Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, highlighted the contribution of mobile financial services in the development and achievement of SDGs. Ms. Susan Vize, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Dhaka Office, said that the Smart Fintech partnership was the vehicle that would drive Bangladesh towards achieving SDGs.