The intersection between technology and consumers is becoming deeper and more meaningful over time. How do you envision the lives of consumers surrounding technology in the future?<\/b><\/p>\n
I loved the question itself. I bumped into a very interesting chart at \u201cOur World in Data\u201d that shows \u2013 how different technologies from flush toilets to smart tablets enjoy adoption across US households. It took flush toilets 214 years to reach 99% of households, but smart tablets made it to 65% in just 10 years. The former is an essential element of any house, while the latter is probably a pure \u2018good-to-have\u2019, not as essential as a smartphone.<\/span><\/p>\n What does it tell us? It tells us that consumers today indulge more in personal tech, have much better affordability and hence are more mindful of the outer utility and inner purpose they seek. Along with that, today\u2019s consumer-tech space is increasingly tilting towards the softer space, from previous harder ground, hence the flurry of cloud and application we see all around.<\/span><\/p>\n As an entity, and a group of entrepreneurs \u2013 we all at Dotlines (<\/span>www.dotlines.com.sg<\/span><\/a>) believe that technology must be humanized, simplified, and democratized for the masses. That\u2019s why \u2013 our enterprise robotic process automation platform Pulse (<\/span>www.hellopulse.io<\/span><\/a>) helps brands make use of no-code AI platform to make use of Visual IVR, Chatbots, Programmatic Messaging, Smart Referrals, and thus completely humanize and scale the way their end-users interact with them for product\/service query, adoption, support and customer-gets-customer programs. With Audra (<\/span>www.audra.io<\/span><\/a>), we made complex firewall technology so simple, that even a mother of a home or a non-tech admin staff in a small business can set internet rules, and implement security policies as they want just from a mobile app and enjoy complete peace of mind. With Ghoori (<\/span>www.ghoori.com.bd<\/span><\/a>), we made sure digital services are democratized, can be purchased locally, for the most marginal data users in Bangladesh, even if they are not traditionally banked, but hold an MFS account to pay for it.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For years Dotlines has been operating in multiple countries worldwide with innovative products. How have some of these products impacted the value for consumers and clients?<\/b><\/p>\n Dotlines works for making business and life simple. In this age, it\u2019s never easy to build and scale initiatives that do not serve the right purpose \u2013 in a simple way, at the right mutual value. This is probably the most difficult balancing act we all need to play constantly.<\/span><\/p>\n At one part, each of our 22 brands is extremely diverse \u2013 if you see from a mere external point of view, across 10 verticals \u2013 Internet connectivity, to Learning, to FinTech, to Logistics, to Payments, to Empowerment, to RPA, to Telco platforms, to Infotainments, to Lifestyle. Besides that, we serve both SME and large businesses, as well as, last-mile end consumers from the same house, and that adds to the complexity of it even more.<\/span><\/p>\n Irrespective, we have always strived for making an impact. It\u2019ll be a big story if I tell you about each of those 22 Dotlines initiatives. But I want to give you the example of two of the initiatives and what impact they are delivering and will only expand in the coming days.<\/span><\/p>\n Our loved fibre internet initiative in Bangladesh \u2013 Carnival Internet (<\/span>www.carnival.com.bd<\/span><\/a>) has taken a very challenging route, to bridge the digital divide between the cities and villages. With an extremely unique, never-implemented-before model, our team at Carnival has done the unthinkable \u2013 they have adopted an outside-in strategy, to connect rural villages of the country with the world over internet, not via flirting narrow-band mobile data, but with robust broadband fibre network. We have reached 54 districts in just 2 years, despite inherent challenges and doubts from others. We never sought claps, but it gives us more satisfaction, when a student, stuck in\u00a0 Teknaf during the pandemic, completes the semester online, attending classes being conducted from Dhaka; or when an eligible candidate from Tetulia buys a two hour internet card from the nearby tea-stall and completes job application and begins a new innings of life.<\/span><\/p>\n As you know, our group Chairman \u2013 Mahbubul Matin \u2013 is a proud non-resident Bangladeshi himself. After my move from regional operations in Bangladesh to the headquarter in Malaysia to look after international business expansion, I realized \u2013 how passionately he and our international business colleagues have built the migrant services initiative \u2013 Sohoj (<\/span>www.sohoj.my<\/span><\/a>). Combining all our technological and ecosystem capabilities, going inside distant hostels where physical delivery network doesn\u2019t reach even in a progressive country like Malaysia, our service reaches millions of blue-collar workers to help them connect to their families. For these hardworking, dedicated individuals that is probably the only thing that keeps them going and face the next day with a reminder of what they hold sacred.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n