Stakeholder involvement in Union Digital Centres in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper evaluates opportunities and challenges of the Union Digital Centre (UDC) project, a Bangladeshi telecentre initiative, based on a Public-Private-People’s Partnership (PPPP) scheme. It investigates how each of the stakeholders contributes. In the face of many closures, it is a timely contribution. A stakeholder management framework focused on telecentres is used to understand stakeholder behaviour and to provide a hypothesis about the contribution of each to the operation. This study surveyed stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, central government officials and local government representatives. The roles of stakeholders are discussed and opportunities are identified for external support from government bodies to support the operation of UDCs. The potential demands and benefits of a massive client base are also examined. Application of a structural equation model highlights that current progress hinges more on external support and people’s participation than on entrepreneurial investment. The dependency on philanthropic support, combined with problems in stakeholder engagement, poses challenges to entrepreneurship development, a feature necessary for sustainability. To engage them, effective interplay of relevant stakeholders is required.

Keywords

telecentres Union Digital Centres stakeholders public-private partnerships Bangladesh

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