So, like, in 2021, this chick named Roni got into freelancing, which she’s totally passionate about. She’s been getting super skilled in graphic design day by day and now she’s doing freelancing alongside her job at a private company.
Now, she’s making around 500 dollars on average every month, which is like 60 thousand taka in Bangladeshi currency. She covers her expenses along with her family with this income.
Just like Roni, thousands of young people in the country are making billions of taka by working online from home. They’re buying houses and cars, becoming independent, and even creating job opportunities for others. They’re changing the country’s economy for the better, overcoming the curse of unemployment in the past decade. This quiet revolution in the economy through freelancing is happening.
According to Bangladesh Bank, around 50 billion American dollars come to the banking channel through freelancing every year. That’s like 6,150 crore taka in Bangladeshi currency.
Freelancers related peeps say that currently, almost 10 million people are involved in this field in the country and they’re making a billion dollars annually. But there are still some issues to be resolved. If these problems are solved, freelancing will become a huge opportunity for Bangladesh.
The country’s freelancers’ organization, Bangladesh Freelancer Association, told Bangladesh News that the current global freelancer market is worth around 1.8 trillion dollars. There are a total of 253 marketplaces for freelancers. Some work is done at a personal level as well.
They say the number of registered freelancers on the Upwork platform is around six lakh. Besides registration, there are around 10 lakh freelancers in the country. Many freelancers are working and their income is also significant. Every year, around 1 billion dollars come to the country through various channels.
According to Bangladesh Bank’s relevant department, around 50 thousand crore American dollars come to the country through freelancing every year. That’s like 6,150 crore taka in Bangladeshi currency.
Bangladesh Bank’s information shows that in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the country earned 49 crore 43 lakh 19 thousand dollars through freelancing. That’s like 5,500 crore 50 lakh taka in Bangladeshi currency. In the previous fiscal year 2022-23, the country had earned 46 crore 78 lakh dollars through freelancing. That’s like 4,582 crore 19 lakh taka in Bangladeshi currency. In the previous year, some more foreign currency came into the country through freelancing. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, the country earned 50 thousand 4 lakh 6 thousand dollars through freelancing. That’s like 4,323 crore taka in Bangladeshi currency.
Stories of people bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the country through freelancing every year is heart-wrenching. Roni says that through thousands of competitions every day, they have to bring new work from new clients. They must be proficient in English to do so. They also need to improve the quality of their work. Those who survive in these competitions are the ones who can be successful.
Roni further explains that freelancing is such a job that when it ends, they become jobless. Many times, their accounts get suspended. This makes freelancers frustrated. So, in order to survive, they have to be in constant practice. They also need to improve communication with clients. They need to be proficient in English as well. Video calling with clients should be improved.
Many get frustrated and give up. Roni says that many freelancers are not able to hold on after learning the work. Once they learn the work, they are eager to earn dollars. This is another reason why they give up.
Tanzeba Rahman, President of Bangladesh Freelancer Association, explains that in the country, 72% work in web development, graphic design, and digital marketing. After that, category-based freelancing, such as medical content writing, accounting, or subject-based work, is done. In the coming days, the subject-based freelancing market will be better, and we will be able to do better. Because the hourly payment for graphic design, web development, and digital marketing is very low and the competition is very high.
Talking about challenges, she says that it is not easy to convince a client who is thousands of miles away to work. In recent years, we have seen that only graphic design, web development, and digital marketing are trained without any training. Those who have training institutions do not do any other work.
To make it easier to bring foreign currency into the country through freelancing, Standard Chartered Bank has opened freelancer accounts. Lutfur Habib, Head of Wealth and Retail Banking at the bank, says, “Freelancing is such a job that we are a third-world country. 65% of our people are aged 35 or younger. They find it easy to attach with modern technology. It can be a huge account for the future. If we can provide all the support, then in the cashless year 2030, it can be a business of 5 billion dollars. We are opening accounts for them. From opening an account to working online, freelancers can do all the work online. We have given them the opportunity to develop and encourage them for free.
For those who want to take freelancing as a profession, Tanzeba Rahman, President of Bangladesh Freelancer Association, says, “In every sector, there is a freelancing version — not everyone knows this. I was working with the University Grants Commission (UGC) for this. Those who have studied a subject will know the tech versions. There are 1,123 subjects in Upwork freelancing. Their knowledge does not reach our freelancers.
She says, “We are global tech workers. Sitting in Bangladesh, we are reaching out to millions of people bit by bit. Those who have the ability to work are the ones who deserve respect. When we started, we had a target that freelancers should be brought to respectable positions. Parents can say that my son-daughter is a freelancer. Today, where I stand, I am proud to be a freelancer.
She says, “Those who are thinking of becoming freelancers feel a big honor in social dilemmas. Today, many multinational banks are considering opening accounts for freelancers. We are working with them. We will work jointly with them so that freelancers can easily bring money into the country.
Due to the absence of PayPal, some platforms are charging extra for doing business. They increase the charge when they are happy. This increases costs. Freelancers will benefit if PayPal is introduced.
Taking the initiative to introduce alternative systems for payment
Arifur Rahman Khan, Managing Director of Bangladesh Bank, says, “In freelancers’ earned money, there is no barrier to bringing money into the country or increasing foreign currency earnings. We are working on this. It is not always seen that even if a product is imported, money does not come into the country. However, it cannot be said that the money earned by freelancers is not coming into the country. What they earn comes into the country and they are contributing to the country’s economy. In terms of their payment, we are working to see if there are any obstacles, if there are any problems, so that they can easily bring money into the country.
He further explains, “We are working with several international payment systems to work internationally. We are developing a medium to make it easier and more stable to bring income into the country. Those companies that will work with us to bring freelancers’ income from abroad, we are working with them. We have gone a bit ahead in working jointly with them.
With PayPal not being operational, Arifur Rahman Khan, from Bangladesh Bank, says, “We are developing a medium to make it easier and more stable to bring freelancers’ income into the country. We are opening accounts with many companies that work abroad. We are working with them. We are working to work jointly with them soon so that freelancers can easily bring money into the country.
The current trend of freelancing is good. However, many are moving away. We are working to make it easier for them to bring income into the country. We are working with those companies that will work with us to bring freelancers’ income from abroad. We are going to work jointly with them soon.
So, like, it’s totally important to develop alternative payment systems for freelancers to bring money into the country. This is like super crucial for the freelancers’ income to easily come into the country, ya know? We’re totally working on developing a medium for this. We’re like, going way ahead in working with companies that will bring freelancers’ income from abroad. We’re like, soon gonna work together with them, so freelancers can easily bring money into the country.