Innovation Key To Achieve $100bn Bangla Garment Export Target
At a seminar, Bangladesh garment industry and exporters and experts were of the opinion that innovation was the key to Bangladesh apparel exports touching the $100 billion mark by 2030.
The Textile Today Innovation Hub and CEMS-Global jointly organised the seminar which was held concurrently with the 22nd Textech Bangladesh 2023 International Expo which was held in Dhaka last week.
At the panel discussion on ‘Road to $100 Billion Exports by 2030’, Mahbubul Alam Milton, Masco Group Executive Director said, “To achieve our export target, we must be innovative.”
He also added this requires knowledge and collaboration within various teams and also stressed that invention and innovation are distinct concepts.
“Through innovation, we can make ourselves more competitive. Open innovation involves collaboration with external partners, while closed innovation takes place within the company,” Milton stated.
Milton also said that they have tried to gather data on the challenges the industry would face to meet the target of $100 billion in exports, but found it difficult to gather such data.
“Lack of data discourages us from investing in pricier products with confidence. Industry bodies should work together to share data, which will help take informed decisions on these products,” he informed.
“A small innovation can make a big change and once we have a systematic innovation process in place, then we will have to find the hotspot, and identify an improvement area to work for change,” Tareq Amin, founder of Textile Today Innovation Hub said in his keynote address.
Another panelist also underscored the need to implement purpose-driven and systematic changes across product development, processes and workforce, as these changes can reduce costs and enhance profits.
