A digital of map of the country’s readymade garment factories will be prepared with detailed information of the number of factories, location, number of workers, workers’ association, infrastructure and production system. Commerce Minister Tofael Ahmed inaugurated a project titled ‘Digital RMG Factory Mapping in Bangladesh (DRFM-B)’ on Saturday at Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exports Association’s (BGMEA’s) building at Karwanbazar. Mentioning the project as another step forward of the current government’s digital programme, the minister said, “Through the digital map, it’ll be easier for us to know about our garment sector.” The work on the digital map, which will be implemented by Brac University and coordinated by BRAC USA, will be completed by 2021, said Manager of the project Parveen Sultana Huda, adding that garment factories of 104 upazilas in 20 garment-producing districts will be brought under the project. Basic information like type of products and production, female and male workers, major buyers, factories’ approval and certification, fire extinguishing system, hospital management, security committee, trade unions will be included in the digital map by collecting information from all the factories, she added. “There’s a lack of research on the garment sector in our country. But, we must do research on where will the sector will go after 10 or 15 or 20 years,” said Vice Chancellor of Brac University Prof Syed Saad Andalib. General Manager of C&A Sourcing Bangladesh Shantanu Singh said, “This digital map will bring transparency in the garment sector. While many countries haven’t even thought of it, it is happening in Bangladesh.” The inaugural session was presided over by Adviser to Brac University Entrepreneurship Development Centre Prof Rahim B Talukdar. According to Brac University source, the project DRFM-B has started with a goal to provide industry stakeholders with a real-time, credible RMG factory data through an interactive online platform (like Google Maps).
