Mahmudul Hasan

Holding court over video conferencing platforms have become an inextricable part of the daily life of corporate and government officials in these pandemic times. But the services rendered by the platforms are not free and sending payment for them to outside of Bangladesh was rather tricky.

Amid all adversities, comes a piece of good news for more than one crore accountholders of Agrani Bank who are yet to savour the delight of digital transactions since the state-owned bank has no online banking services for its customers.

Airlines and hotels are desperately trying to lure in holidaymakers by way of offering discounts and attractive packages now that the country’s top tourist destination Cox’s Bazar has started hosting guests again after about a pause of five months.

Bangladesh’s manufacturing prowess is getting yet another stamp of global approval. The South Korean tech giant Samsung has decided to manufacture its latest flagship devices, the Note20 and the Note 20 Ultra 5G, in the country.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continuing to propel contactless transactions, Uber’s recent partnership with bKash on enabling automatic trip-end payments is paving the way for a bigger vision for the San Francisco-based tech giant.

Standard Chartered has executed the country’s first-ever blockchain transaction by issuing a letter of credit for Viyellatex, in a development that can go on to make the process of trade, both at local and global levels, much streamlined.

The chatter of well-heeled ladies as they try out glistening bangles or necklaces typically filled the air of the sprawling flagship showroom of Jarwa House on the capital’s Gulshan Avenue.

Rajib Miah, a dairy farmer from Shahjadpur upazila in Sirajganj, thought the worst was behind him when the government lifted the countrywide shutdown on 30 May and was looking forward to recouping the losses brought on the pandemic.

Soon after Bangladesh reported its first confirmed COVID-19 cases on 8 March, the on-demand cleaning service provider HandyMama got busy working up a strategy to incorporate disinfecting and antiviral cleaning to its list of services.

Opening a new business or expanding the existing operations amid a pandemic do not make sense as demand invariably tends to be too low.

Sales at retail clothing stores in the capital are growing ahead of Eid, albeit at a snail’s pace.

One of the beneficiaries from this unprecedented spell of being cooped up at home has been the online media streaming platforms as people all on a sudden have a gulf of free time in hand.

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change, said the most famous naturist Charles Darwin back in the 19th century.

Hundreds of thousands of cattle are set to remain unsold this Eid season thanks to coronavirus, which has eaten up the income of the country’s burgeoning middle-class and also instilled the fear of coronavirus contagion among the upper class for partaking in the sacrificial ritual.

Panic gripped Sultana Ahmed of the capital’s Mohakhali DOHS the moment she learnt that live slaughtering and meat processing of cattle was barred in her neighbourhood this Eid-ul-Azha to minimise coronavirus transmission.

Fireflies, the unassuming insect species, have a short lifespan, but for as long as they live, they shine ever so brightly.

In early March, Md Yousuf, proprietor of Srabon Printing Press in the capital’s Gopibagh area, thought business would return to normal the following month after a prolonged downturn marked by low work orders.

With amusement parks across the world slowly starting to reopen while keeping social distancing guidelines and other restriction in place to prevent mass coronavirus infections, it remains unknown when similar establishments in Bangladesh will resume operations.

Getting around Dhaka city, these days, has become bit of a plight for those who were reliant on their chauffeurs to drive them around.

When Bangladesh reported its first confirmed case of Covid-19 infection in early March, Saleh Mohammed Shuhel, the proprietor B. Baria Motors that sells motorcycles, had thought his business would not be spared from the claws of the raging disease.