Letter of Transmittal
January 25, 2011

Dr. Abdul Hannan Chowdhury
Professor, School of Business
North South University
Dear Sir,
Here is the report on “BASIS, Study of Performance Capacity” that you asked me to prepare as a requirement for the completion of the course BUS 498.
As you will see, this report includes an analysis on the present and future performance of BASIS, the national association for the software industry of Bangladesh.
Despite already having an association for the IT industry of Bangladesh, in 1997 BASIS was created with the purpose of better representing the software industry of Bangladesh, as the other association represented mostly the hardware industry. The performance of BASIS is of utmost importance as the local software industry has the capacity to be a major foreign currency earner and a great source for employment. According to the members, so far BASIS has performed well, and in the future, it holds the capacity to contribute significantly to the growth of the software industry of Bangladesh.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness for providing me with the opportunity to investigate the association, imparting valuable knowledge and experience to me.
Sincerely,
Syed Shahidul Islam Khan
Acknowledgement
This report is a study on the present and future performance of BASIS, where I have tried to investigate the performance capacity of the association. This section of the report is to acknowledge all the support that I have received from different individuals, the members of BASIS, as well as the association itself.
While conducting this study, my supervisors were Mr. A.K.M. Fahim Mashroor and Dr. Abdul Hannan Chowdhury. In the preliminary stages, both of them helped me immensely in refining and narrowing down my topic of the study. Mr. A.K.M. Fahim Mashroor also briefed me on the topic, sharing his knowledge and experience, which helped me in preparing my questionnaire and also gave me an idea as to what to expect from the study. Furthermore, he also wrote a letter which was very helpful while conducting the questionnaire survey. Throughout the report, Dr. Abdul Hannan Chowdhury has guided me whenever I needed it, and always provided me with all the support that I needed to complete my study.
To analyze the performance of the association, I had to familiarize myself with all the major functions of the associations. I received endless support from the people involved in all the functional departments of BASIS, as they carefully explained the major functions of the association.
Finally, the members of BASIS have assisted me by responding to my questionnaire survey and also by giving valuation recommendations for the study.
I am grateful to all the individuals who has helped me in my study, and provided me with all the support that I needed. Without their support, this study could not have been completed. Executive Summary
Bangladesh is a country which is solely dependent on the RMG sector for its export and for earning foreign currency. This is neither safe nor healthy, and the software industry can be an answer. Despite being very small in size, the industry is growing fast, both locally and internationally. And the association representing this industry is BASIS, Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services. By representing an industry with such high potential, BASIS has a huge responsibility on its’ shoulder.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the present and future performance of BASIS, and to find out how much the association has contributed to the success of the industry so far and also how much it can contribute in the future. The study has revealed that the members of BASIS believe that the association has had significant contribution towards the industry so far. The actions taken by BASIS have helped the local firms to improve their efficiency and profit margin, as well as to increase their exposure in the local and international market. Furthermore, BASIS has also contributed in developing human resource, which is crucial for such an industry, through their training programs.
The members of BASIS also believe that the association can play a greater role in the future to further develop the industry. Certain actions like increasing the member base, establishing a professional institute for fresh graduates, improving internet connection, offering tax holiday, creating greater access to finance and further promoting the industry internationally will help the industry significantly. This will greatly improve the future performance of BASIS as well.
This study clearly suggests that software industry of Bangladesh has a lot of potential, and BASIS can play a significant role in helping the industry to reach its potential.
Table of Contents
Letter of Transmittal i
Acknowledgement ii
Executive Summary iii
The Organization Part 2
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, BASIS 2
The Founders of BASIS 4
Mission, Vision, Objectives and Strategies of BASIS 5
Organization Structure of BASIS 9
Major Functions and Descriptions of Functional Departments of BASIS 11
An Assessment of BASIS’s Current State of Operations and Future Directions 15
Introduction 18
Objectives of the Study 23
Significance of the Study 24
Hypotheses of the Study 26
Methodology of the Study 27
Conceptual Framework for Performance 29
Results of the Study 30
Data Description 32 Graphical Representations of the Data 32 Descriptive Statistics 45
Correlation Analysis 48
Inferential Statistics 52 Testing Mean 52
Comparison of Present and Future Performance 55
Testing Mean Difference 56
Factor Analysis 59
Regression Analysis 67
Recommendations 74
Limitations of the study 78
Conclusion 79
Bibliography 81
Appendix 83
Questionnaire for the Survey 84
Cross Tables 88
Regression Analysis 96

BASIS
The Organization

The Organization Part
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, BASIS
Almost every industry in Bangladesh is represented by an association, where most of the organizations belonging to that industry are members. Most of these associations work for the betterment of the industry, to support its members to flourish their business. In industries like garments and knitwear, their associations, namely BGMEA and BKMEA respectively have played significant role in transforming the industry to what it is today, the major foreign currency earners of Bangladesh. Likewise, the software and information industry of our country is represented by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). It is in BASIS where I have completed my internship program. Although an association is not strictly like an organization, but during my internship, I have found that it operates very much like an organization. For example, like in any organization, BASIS has an Executive Council (EC), and its members are responsible for the top level decision making. An election is held every two years to choose the members of the EC. They have full time employees, called the Secretariats, who are responsible for the day to day operations of the associations. BASIS also has different departments, each specializing in particular activities of the association. I worked in the research wing of the association, where I conducted a research on the software and information industry. BASIS is located in the ICT incubator, and the address is BDBL Bhaban (5th Floor - West), 12 Kawran Bazar, Dhaka -1215. ICT incubator is the only of its kind so far, where companies from the industry gets certain privileges like subsidized rent for office space and internet connection and uninterrupted power supply. This is done by the government to create a common location for the software firms, where they can work in close proximity, and allowing ancillary services to grow as well. People from the industry have expressed further need for such ICT incubators; as a result, an IT park is under construction in Kaliakor, Dhaka.
BASIS was formed in 1997, with seventeen charter members. When BASIS was established, the IT industry as a whole was represented by Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS). BCS was established in 1987 with eleven members. The ICT industries of Bangladesh comprises distributors, dealers, resellers of computer and allied products, locally assembled computer vendors, software developers and exporters, internet service providers, ICT based educational institutions and training houses, ICT embedded services providers etc, all of which is represented by BCS. Now there was a need for BASIS even though there was BCS, as BCS mainly represented the hardware fraction of the industry. BASIS was launched particularly to cater the needs of the software industry of Bangladesh, which was rapidly gaining momentum.

The Founders of BASIS
Initially, BASIS had seventeen charter members when it started its journey in 1997. Today it has over 370 members. Consisting of the founding members, the first BASIS Executive Council (EC) was formed in 1999 and it lasted till 2001. The table below lists the members of the first EC of BASIS. Mr. S. M. KamalChairmanSystem Resources Ltd. | President | Mr. Moin Khan | Vice President | Mr. K. Atique-e-RabbaniManaging Director
The Computers Limited | Secretary General | Mr. Mustafa Rafiqul IslamDirector
Flora Limited | Treasurer | Mr. Shafquat HaiderManaging Director
Ciproco Computers Ltd. | Director | Mr. Momluk Sabir AhmedManaging Director
Computer Services | Director | Mr. Mahmudur RahmanDirector
Development Planners and Consultants | Director |
After the first EC, an election is held every two years, through which new members of the EC are elected. The founding members of the EC had the daunting task of giving BASIS a good launch, and they have certainly managed to do so, as just over a decade, the member base has increased from 17 to over 370. There are many other achievements of BASIS over the course of its journey, and all the credit must be given to the first members of EC for giving BASIS a strong beginning.

Mission, Vision, Objectives and Strategies of BASIS
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Mission
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“The mission of BASIS is to help its members to achieve local and international recognition as well as to pursue the government to implement IT friendly policies”
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Vision
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“The vision of BASIS is to help the software and IT service industry to reach a level where it can also be a major foreign currency earner for the country”
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BGMEA, the national association for the garments industry of Bangladesh has played a significant role in developing the industry, converting it to a major foreign currency earner for Bangladesh. Not only that, it provides employment for over 4.2 million Bangladeshis, majority of them being women [ (Bangladeshi RMG Sector, 2010) ]. Just like that, the vision of BASIS is to help the software and IT service industry to reach a level where it can also be a major foreign currency earner for the country. The association has been working to develop a vibrant local software & IT service industry in the country, which can provide opportunities for the IT minds of our country, and stop the brain drain. Many IT graduates from both public and private universities are leaving Bangladesh for better opportunities abroad, thus depriving the country of their services. BASIS intends to grow the local software industry to such a level that these graduates don’t feel the need to go abroad as they will be able to find better opportunities at home. BASIS realizes that IT is the next big thing for Bangladesh, and its vision is to make it happen. With the country’s vision of “Digital Bangladesh”, BASIS has been working relentlessly to create IT awareness in the society through projecting the high importance of making the country more IT enabled for a better future of the nation. At the same time the association holds a vision for creating an enabling environment for the software & ITES industry of the country so that it can flourish by rightly utilizing the huge market potential- both home and abroad. BASIS dreams of incorporating IT into every aspect of Bangladesh, thus making it truly a digital country, which will drastically improve the efficiency at the national level, and improve the image of the country.
To achieve BASIS’s vision, it has set objectives which can be divided into four broad categories. By meeting these objectives, BASIS can fulfill its vision. The four broad categories have been explained in details in the table below. A. | Domestic market development by creating awareness | * Basis wants to create awareness in the domestic market, allowing exposure for the software firms in the industry. * BASIS creates opportunities like SoftExpo, an annual exhibition for the software firms, to demonstrate their products and services. * Many local companies, especially the commercial banks, hire foreign firms to meet their expensive IT needs. * Equal quality products are offered by the local firms; however, due to lack of awareness, they fail to secure those contracts. * BASIS believes that local firms need more exposure, and local businesses need to be more aware of the local products and services to reduce the operating costs and expand the local market for the software firms. | B. | Helping the local software and ITES companies penetrate the international market | * Alongside developing the local market, BASIS also focuses on developing the international market * According to market researcher Data Monitor, the size of the worldwide software industry in 2008 was US$ 303.8 billion. * DataMonitor forecasts that in 2013, the global software market will have a value of US$ 457 billion, an increase of 50.5% since 2008 (Software Industry, 2010). It is therefore imperative for Bangladesh to grab a share of this huge pie. * To do so, BASIS frequently holds international fair at different prospective countries, showcasing local products and services. * This provides a great opportunity for the local firms to gain international exposure. * Recently BASIS held “US Bangladesh Technology Summit” in New York. * With the constant effort of BASIS in promoting Bangladesh as an IT destination, it might not be long before software industry becomes one of the major foreign currency earners for Bangladesh. | C. | Capacity building of the member firms | * BASIS helps local firms to build their capacity. It operates a training facility, called OOP Training, to provide fresh graduates the professional training that is necessary to prepare them for the challenges they will face ahead. * Academic curriculum training by employers does not necessarily provide a graduate everything that he/she needs to perform in the industry. * Thus BASIS provides the professional training that the graduates needs, helping both the graduates and the firms. * BASIS also shares it knowledge regarding the industry to its members, which can be very helpful for new entrants to make informed decisions. * For example, what sort of government supports are available, different sources of finance and information regarding foreign markets. |

D. | Persuasion for business friendly government policies for the industry | * Having a large member base, BASIS influences the government to make friendly polices. * For example, tax holiday for software firms, lesser restriction in using dollars for business purpose and so on. * These policies help the infant firms to sustain the tough international and local competition, and thus establish themselves. Government support is vital for the growing software industry. * BASIS constantly pressurizes the government to be more lenient towards the software industry, so that it can flourish, reach its potential, and be a major foreign currency earner for the country. |

By working towards the vision, BASIS intends to achieve the country’s dream of “Digital Bangladesh”. Bangladesh has the potential to be a major player in the world IT industry, and it is evident as many Bangladeshis are working in companies like Microsoft and Google. So clearly, Bangladesh has to capacity to be a competitor in the international market, and BASIS can help

Organization Structure of BASIS | |
It is very important that an association representing an industry with such high potential have a strong management, and an efficient organization structure. BASIS is run by an Executive Council (EC), which consists of nine members. The EC is headed by the President. Then there are Senior Vice President and the Vice President, followed by Secretary General and Joint Secretary General. There is a treasurer and three Directors. Every two years, an election is held to elect the members of the EC. The members of the EC assume all responsibility for running BASIS. They take all the decisions; represent BASIS to the government and other stakeholders. They hold frequent meetings to discuss the matters that need attention and take action accordingly. So it is in the hands of the EC members to make BASIS an effective association, helping the software industry reach its true potential.

BASIS members have elected a new 9-member board of directors for a two-year term by direct voting on May 15, 2010. The current EC (2010-2012) is represented in the hierarchy above.
While the EC members take all the critical decisions, it is up to the BASIS secretariats to run BASIS on a day to day basis. There are eight full time employees working as BASIS secretariats. Each of them are in charge of different departments of BASIS, carrying out their responsibilities to make it an active association. Following are the list of BASIS Secretariats. * * Mr. Hashim Ahmed - Acting Secretary * Mr. Biplob Ghosh Rahul - Coordinator-Event & Logistics * Ms. Sabrina Tanjin - Helpdesk and Member Communicatio Officer * Mr. Md. Sirajul Islam - Research Associate * Ms. Sabiha Mahmud - Assistant Co-ordinator * Md. Salehin Bin Amin - Assistant Program Manager * Mr. Shahidul Islam – Accountant * Ms. Rulia Parveen - Executive Administration

The BASIS Secretariats are directly accountable to the EC members. Although the size of the BASIS Secretariat is small compared to other associations of country like BGEMA and BKMEA, but it is very efficient and vigilant. The size of the Secretariat will expand significantly in the near future as the role played by BASIS is becoming more active. To achieve the vision and mission of BASIS, it is important that it is supported by a strong Secretariat body as they are the ones who carry out all the functions of BASIS.
So it can be said that the organizational structure of BASIS is flat, and very small. This is the reason why it is becoming very effective in such a short span of time. But as the association grows over time, the organization structure will change, become larger and hopefully even more effective, as it is vital for the industry to have a strong association representing them.
Major Functions and Descriptions of Functional Departments of BASIS
BASIS, being an association, the main objective is the well being of the industry that it represents. All the major activities of BASIS are concerned to flourish the software industry both locally and internationally. Below is a list of all the major functions of BASIS * Organizing training programs for graduates. * Organizing events to promote the industry and create more exposure. * Providing every sort of services to the members of BASIS. * Conducting industry specific research to provide greater insight. * Keeping track of the financial aspect of the association. * Taking care of the general administrative activities of the organization. * Providing attention to new projects and programs.
BASIS consists of several departments to carry out its different functions. A detailed description for each of the departments has been given below.

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Event
This department is supervised by Mr. Biplob Ghosh Rahul. He is the one who is responsible to manage every event held by BASIS. His job description includes planning the entire event, arrange for location, decide on food and beverages, prepare a guest list, send invitations to them, be present during the event and ensure smooth execution of the event. This is a very active department as BASIS regularly holds events to maintain constant exposure for their members and creating opportunities for them to showcase their potential.
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Research
As a result, BASIS has dedicated a separate research wing, which is supervised by Mr. Md. Sirajul Islam. He is the man responsible for carrying out specific research regarding the industry, which provides a greater insight for all the stakeholders. Members can use the findings of such research to make long term decisions, and BASIS can also pin point where they need to focus their attention. Through research, BASIS can also track the progress of the industry. BASIS also involves any intern that they hire in the research wing, so as to make this department more active.
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Service
In the service department, which is supervised by Ms. Sabrina Tanjin, members can seek any information regarding their membership, or any events that are organized by BASIS. Members can also inquire about other members who are involved in the same line of work as they are, so that they can work together for particular projects if necessary. So the primary responsibility of the service department is to be in constant communication with the members and assisting them in every way possible.

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Accounts
In the account department, which is supervised by Mr. Shahidul Islam, all the financial aspects of the association are dealt with. Primary responsibilities include keeping track of revenues and expenditure, valuation of asset and liabilities, frequent correspondence with banking institutions and preparing financial statements for internal use. Since BASIS is a not for profit organization, it is vital that there is accountability for every penny. Members are presented with detailed financial reports, which are audited by external chartered accountants firms at every annual meeting.
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Administration
In the administration department, which is supervised by Ms. Rulia Parveen, all the administrative responsibilities are fulfilled. It includes supervision of other employees at BASIS, providing them with any sort of administrative support that they might need to fulfill their activities. Other activities include keeping track of office supplies; execute orders for repurchase when stocks of supplies are low. For all the other departments work efficiently, it is very important to have a good administrative department and BASIS understand this need and provides it accordingly.

Although BASIS is divided into several departments, but there is a very good coordination between all the departments. It is vital for an association to work efficiently, as a lot regarding the future of the industry rests on their hand. It is their responsibility to promote this industry, and represent it on behalf of their members. BASIS recognizes this responsibility and take it very seriously, that is why, all the departments have been established after taking consideration of every aspect of their responsibility. Each department has been staffed with qualified employee, which BASIS believes that are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities with utmost sincerity and zeal. A significant credit for the success of BASIS so far can be given to the establishment of these well thought departments and the employees who are running them. As BASIS grows over time, there will be need for many more departments and along with it more qualified and motivated employees. As there will be a need, BASIS will act accordingly, as it believes that employees are a major element in achieving their promised vision.

An Assessment of BASIS’s Current State of Operations and Future Directions
BASIS was established in 1997, and just over a decade, it has managed to increase its member base from 17 to over 370. For an association, increase in member base is a strong indication of its performance. Thus it can be said that BASIS has performed satisfactorily over the last one decade.
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BASIS has pursued the government to declare Software as a thrust sector and promote the goal of Digital Bangladesh. On behalf of the members, the association is trying to promote the industry both locally and internationally. In the future, BASIS will focus on further increasing its member base, as a large member base will only increase its strength and unity of the industry.
When BASIS was established, the software industry was a small scattered industry, which consisted mostly of freelancers and very small companies. So, the newly formed association faced a daunting task of pulling this industry together, to unite it under its leadership. From the very beginning, BASIS has worked hard to establish the software industry as a thrust sector, which it has achieved very recently, as the government recognized the software industry as a thrust sector and a potential foreign currency earner. BASIS is playing a critical role in fulfilling the dream of “Digital Bangladesh”.
As the new association representing particularly the software industry of Bangladesh, they had the responsibility to promote it in the local market. At the same time, with the aim of taking a share of the global software industry, they also had to promote the industry at an international level. BASIS has worked closely with the government and the large corporations to give the local software firms an opportunity to demonstrate their potential. They insisted on giving contracts to local firms rather than hiring foreign firms. Only recently, large corporations, including the banks, are giving contracts to local firms to meet their IT needs, as they are cheaper and of good quality. BASIS has also launched the “BangladeshNext” logo, representing Bangladesh as the next IT destination for international market. So, although BASIS faced a huge task when they starter, but it can be safely said that they have managed grow in the local and international market.
For any infant industry, government support is vital to protect it from the stiff international competition. BASIS recognized this early, and has been working relentlessly with the government for business friendly policies. To mention few of their achievements so far, they have enacted ICT Act, updated the ICT policy in 2009, and have allowed tax holiday for the software firms. BASIS has forced government to recognize the potential of the software industry and to declare it as a thrust sector. BASIS’s constant persuasion has helped the industry to achieve exponential growth, both locally and internationally.
Despite all the successes of BASIS, it cannot be said the journey is over; rather the association has a long way to go before it can achieve its vision. In the future, BASIS will focus on further increasing its member base, as a large member base will only increase its strength and unity of the industry. BASIS will also work with the collaboration of different agencies to promote the software industry of Bangladesh both locally and internationally. It will develop new services for its members and expand its training program to further increase the potential of the industry. To achieve the vision of “Digital Bangladesh”, BASIS will continuously work alongside the government, providing every support that they believe is necessary. BASIS intends to do everything that is required to transform the software industry into a major source of employment and foreign currency earner for the country.
Despite being an association, BASIS works very much like any other organization. It is because, to work efficiently, the principles of an organization are very important. This has been recognized by BASIS, and so it has been grown to be just like an organization. As the software industry expands, so will BASIS as an organization, as an association, representing that growing prospect.

BASIS Performance Review

Introduction * -------------------------------------------------
“Bangladesh software industry is growing exponentially over the past few years” * -------------------------------------------------
“Bangladesh's software industry can earn US$500 million by exporting software by 2013-2014” * -------------------------------------------------
“Bangladesh's Taka 20 billion software industry currently employs nearly 20,000 skilled and semi-skilled professionals” * -------------------------------------------------
“According to the BASIS website, the European Union has ranked the country as among the top 20 outsourcing destinations in the world” * -------------------------------------------------
“Preparation of a national voter database of 60 million people and producing computerized ID cards for each voter” * -------------------------------------------------
“Implementation of the computerized nationwide seat reservation and ticketing system for Bangladesh Railway”
Bangladesh software industry is growing exponentially over the past few years. Software exports from Bangladesh grew significantly in recent months, with more than 400 software and IT companies exporting their products to around 30 countries. Although the global economic meltdown had a negative impact on most of the countries around the world, but it has uplifted export growth for Bangladeshi software industry. Bangladesh's software industry can earn US$500 million by exporting software by 2013-2014 if the current growth trend continues. With nearly 100 per cent growth, Bangladesh has earned over $14 million by exporting software in the first five months of fiscal 2008-09. (Naim-ul-Karim)
Bangladesh’s software industry marked an impressive 33 percent growth in export in the last fiscal year (2008-09) that ended in June 2009, due to the fact that many western and European firms shifted focus on the South Asian country for low-cost IT services. A healthy chunk of 32.91 million U.S. dollars export earnings of the industry in the last fiscal year (July 2008- June 2009) came from computer software developmental services. Bangladesh has the human resources for software development as there has been an increasing trend for graduates to study on computer science and technology, which has been specially boosted by the private universities. Bangladesh's Taka 20 billion (about $285.71 million) software industry currently employs nearly 20,000 skilled and semi-skilled professionals and there is further scope to increase employment opportunity. According to a leading software exporter, although a majority of the country's existing companies export software to North America, a good number of firms have also started exporting to European and East Asian markets, including Japan. This has increased the market size and created greater opportunities for the local firms to strengthen their stance in the international market. As the global companies are taking interest in Bangladesh's software industry, a number of local and foreign IT firms are investing to develop high-quality software, taking advantage of the low-cost but well qualified workforce here. Many global companies came to invest in Bangladesh over the last couple of months as it costs them less and makes them competitive in the global market. According to BASIS, at least 30 out of hundreds of the export oriented companies in the recent past have either set up joint ventures or ODCs with 100 per cent foreign investment. According to the BASIS website, the European Union has ranked the country as among the top 20 outsourcing destinations in the world. To meet the quality standard of overseas clients, the companies in Bangladesh follow global standard practices and processes, claimed another important functionary of BASIS. (Bangladesh’s software industry marked an impressive 33 percent growth in export in the last fiscal year (2008-09))
To demonstrate the advancement of the local IT industry, some of its local successes are worth mentioning. * Preparation of a national voter database of 60 million people and producing computerized ID cards for each voter. The project started in 1995 and is still on going with the intent of bringing every Bangladeshi under this database. (Chowdhury) * Implementation of the computerized nationwide seat reservation and ticketing system for Bangladesh Railway. The system was completed in 1996 serves nearly one million passengers each month. Recently, passengers are also able to buy train tickets using their mobile phone, thus simplifying the hassle of travel. (Chowdhury) * Preparation and administering the motor vehicles and drivers registration database. The nationwide system handles more than one million registrations/renewals each year, and this has increased the efficiency of the department significantly. (Chowdhury) * Establishing a National Data Bank. This on-going state-funded project started in 1995 and plans to be the ultimate repository of all information of Bangladesh. (Chowdhury) * Establishment of Bangladesh Computer Council. This state-sponsored statutory body formed in 1989, works to promote computerization in the country and provide all necessary assistance to the IT industry. It has been lately entrusted with the task of preparing a national IT policy and producing at least 10,000 IT professionals and trainers each year. (Chowdhury) * Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. All national utility bodies (power, gas, telephony etc.) have implemented or are implementing SCADA systems over their national grid networks. (Chowdhury) * Securities exchanges automation. There are two stock exchanges in the country both of which have implemented automated securities trading systems in 1998. The Securities and Exchange Commission has undertaken the task of dematerializing securities and adopting an electronic central depository of securities. This has greatly increased the efficiency of the securities exchanges, and greatly helped all the stakeholders. (Chowdhury) * DC10 spares inventory for Biman Bangladesh Airlines. (Chowdhury) * National pre-university examination system automation. The boards of secondary and higher secondary education process more than 30 million examination papers each year through the automated OMR based computer system. (Chowdhury)
Bangladesh government has recognized the potential of the local software industry and the new government's plan to make “Digital Bangladesh” by 2021 would facilitate the growth of the local software industry. It has provided support like tax and duty cuts to woo more investment in the IT sector. The Bangladeshi government currently provides 60 per cent of the salary or allowance cost for recruiting fresh graduates by any software company. This has greatly increased the competitive advantage of the local firms and broadened the opportunities for the local graduates of Science and Technology. By Connecting to Submarine Cable Network South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe-4 (SEA-ME-WE-4), Bangladesh has already brought its major cities and towns under high-speed and low-priced fiber optic backbone. Furthermore, this has also reduced the cost of internet for the local firms and increased their efficiency significantly. To achieve the goal of “Digital Bangladesh”, it is very important to increase the internet penetration rate of the country, and this can be seen as the first step towards it. Bangladesh government has updated the ICT policy in 2009, and introduced an ICT Act. Furthermore, the proposal to separate the ICT ministry is under consideration, and when achieve, this will allow the software industry for greater representation in the government’s eye. Tender system has also been modified so that the local firms get an equal opportunity to bid for them, and to introduce greater competition for the foreign firms. This has increased the scope for the local firms and reduced the cost and increase the quality for the clients. A separate EEF fund has also been set up by the government to support the IT industry of Bangladesh. Such government support is crucial for the local software industry to reach its potential, and to make its mark on the international market. If the government support is continued, the software industry of Bangladesh could very well become the next major foreign currency earner for the country.
So it can be said without any doubt that software industry is a fast growing industry in Bangladesh with a lot of potential. Behind the success of every industry, there is usually an association involved. For the software industry of Bangladesh, the name of the association is Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). For the software industry to reach its potential, BASIS has to play a significant role. By nature, the local software industry is highly segregated, consisting of many small firms, operating at a minuscule scale. The primary task of BASIS is to bring unity in the industry, as united they can be more powerful and effective rather than acting on their own. BASIS should play the leadership role for the industry, representing them to the government and to the international market. Such effort will increase the coordination among the industry participants and provide a sense of direction to move forward.
BASIS, being the industry representative, should work on both short term and long term strategies to allow the industry to reach its full potential. With the full support of the association, the software industry of Bangladesh can be a major foreign currency earner and a source of employment for the country. BASIS must be highly active so that the software industry can flourish and the vision of “Digital Bangladesh” can be achieved. At the same time, the members of BASIS must assist the association in everyway possible, so that they can work efficiently and effectively.

Objectives of the Study
BASIS is involved in different activities to promote the software industry of Bangladesh. Since BASIS represents the industry, the overall performance of the association is directly linked with the performance of the industry as well. Due to the crucial part played by NASSCOM, Indian IT industry has grown from USD 150 million in 1990 to USD 50 billion in 2007 (Size of India’s IT Industry). If BASIS can follow the footprints of NASSCOM, then Bangladesh software industry can also reach its true potential. Due to the importance of the performance of BASIS, the objective of this study is to find out the present performance of BASIS, as well as to figure out to what extent BASIS can play a greater role in developing the software industry of Bangladesh.
After finding out the present performance of BASIS, and their future potential, the next objective is to draw a specific path which BASIS can follow to further improve their performance. This will consist of numerous recommendations for BASIS on how they can improve their performance. The recommendations would be a mixture of short term and long term actions which BASIS can gradually implement to enhance their performance over time.
So all in all, the objective of the study is to asses the present performance of BASIS and to analyze its potential. After finding out the gap between the present performance and the actual potential, with further analysis, recommendations will be drafted to reduce this gap to nil. This report is to be a guideline for BASIS to improve their own performance so that they can better assist the industry that they represent to achieve its true potential, that is to be a major foreign currency earner and a source of employment for the country.

Significance of the Study
The software industry of Bangladesh is growing rapidly, and in the process gaining confidence of the local and international clients. Due to the immense potential of this sector, Bangladesh government has declared it as a thrust sector, and believes that it can be a major source of foreign currency and employment. But so far, the performance of the industry is not comparable to other countries, especially India. The IT industry of our neighbor is experiencing exponential growth, and many international giants have invested heavily into their IT sector. Now why is Bangladesh not being able to follow the success path of India? One of the primary reasons is the structure of the industry.
Our local software industry consists of many small firms, operating at a very small scale. There are only few firms who actually employ more than 50 employees. The firms are geographically dispersed as well, operating at different parts of Dhaka, and some of them are operating outside Dhaka, in cities like Chittagong and Sylhet. Since the firms are so scattered and small in size, they fail to make any significant impact on the local and international market. There is very little exposure for them, and as a result, this has posed as an impediment to their growth. Most of the local clients are unaware of the services that they can render and their quality, so the local clients end up hiring foreign firms, which are far more expensive compared to the local firms. BASIS, being the representative of the industry can play a crucial part to change this. That is why, the overall performance is very important for all the industry stakeholders. Only BASIS can bring together the segregated industry, and provide sufficient exposure for them to grow, both locally and internationally. They could work as an information centre, where clients can get specific information regarding all the local firms that are operating and the sort of services that they provide, so that they can make hire them instead of the expensive foreign firms. Being united under BASIS will also strengthen the voice of the software industry, so that it can be heard by the government, donor organization and potential investors.
Having an active association can certainly help an industry, and NASSCOM serves as a case in point. The Indian IT association has played a significant role in developing their IT industry. Now the Indian IT sector has become a good source for foreign currency and employment for India. This is why, the present and future performance of BASIS is crucial for the local software industry of Bangladesh. An active association will be better able to create exposure for the firms in the industry, which is vital for market development. They will be able to create pressure on the government to be more favorable in terms of their policies.
Due to the crucial role that BASIS can play in developing the local software industry, it is of utmost importance that the present performance of BASIS is analyzed. To find out what impact BASIS is having on the industry, how much they are contributing to its growth. Furthermore, it is also important to find out how much more BASIS can do to help the industry. Finding out their potential is vital, as only by achieving their own potential can they help the industry to reach its potential. BASIS needs clear guidelines on how it can reach its potential, and this study can help plot a path that BASIS can follow. By implementing the steps proposed by this study, BASIS can be more active and effective. It will allow the association to play the crucial role that it needs to play for the industry to grow to its true potential.

Hypotheses of the Study
There are two major hypotheses for this study, 1. BASIS has so far contributed significantly in developing the software industry of Bangladesh. 2. BASIS can play a greater role in the future for further developing the software industry of Bangladesh.
The first hypothesis states that till now, BASIS as an association representing the software industry, has contributed to the growth of the industry. The local industry has grown over time, and the hypothesis is that BASIS has played a crucial role in developing the industry. Now, whether BASIS has played a crucial role or not can be determined by analyzing their performance so far. If the performance of BASIS has been good, then it can be said that they have contributed to the growth of the industry. On the other hand, if their performance was weak, then they failed to play their part in developing the local software industry.
The second hypothesis states that BASIS can play a greater role in developing the software industry of Bangladesh, regardless of their contribution so far. According to this hypothesis, in the future, BASIS will contribute significantly in developing the local software industry. It means that BASIS will increase the level of exposure for the local companies by organizing fairs and trade shows. They will be better able to increase the capacity of the firms by providing them with technical assistance. They will boost up the supply of trained human resource by offering better training programs. And they will be able to increase their member base, so as to include most of the firms under their membership, so that they acquire the strength to lobby harder with the government, to produce more favorable policies for the industry.
Methodology of the Study
To conduct the research on the present and future performance of BASIS in developing the software industry of Bangladesh, the methodology used has been stated below.
In the preliminary stage, a through secondary research has been conducted regarding BASIS and the software industry. This has allowed to gather crucial knowledge about BASIS, which includes basic information like when BASIS was established and why and how many members does BASIS have, to more functional information like what has BASIS done so far and what it intends to do in the future. This secondary research has also enabled to narrow down the topic for the research.
After the secondary research was completed, and the research topic was narrowed down, a categorical questionnaire was prepared (available in the appendix). The questionnaire contained statements which could be used to asses the present and future performance of BASIS. The respondents were to agree or disagree with the statements, which will allow them to express their opinion on different actions that BASIS has taken and intends to take, to reflect on the association’s performance. Random BASIS members were selected for the survey, where each company was visited and the questionnaire was completed by a top official of the company, who understands the industry as well as are aware of most of the actions taken by BASIS in developing the industry. Twenty one such companies were surveyed to collect the primary data.
During the collection of the questionnaire, few of the officials of particular companies also participated in informal interview. After completing the questionnaire, they have exchanged few of their own opinions, which have enabled me to get greater insight regarding the performance of BASIS than my questionnaire offered. They have also suggested few recommendations for BASIS to improve its performance.
After the primary data collection was completed, statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The software used were SPSS 17.0 and MiniTab 13.0, both of them are statistical software which allows data to be analyzed using statistical tools.
The statistical tools that were used are descriptive statistics, which analyzes the general characteristics of the data. Then mean tests were performed to ascertain the significance of the means of the variables included in the study. Cross tables were also produced to analyze the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Chi- square tests were performed to ascertain the significance of the relationships. Regression analysis were used to build models for each of the two dependent variables, and model tests were performed to analyze the adequacy of the models and also variable tests were performed to analyze the significance of the variables entered into the model. Finally, NPP graphs were plotted.
Based on the analysis performed on the primary data, recommendations were drawn on how BASIS can play a greater role in the future to develop the software industry of Bangladesh. Some of the information gathered in the informal interviews given the top officials was also taken into consideration while drawing recommendations.
Software industry in Bangladesh is quite young and it is growing at a fast pace. There are very few researches which have been conducted particularly on this sector, and as a result, most of my study is based on primary data. The conclusions drawn on this study have been derived directly based on the opinions expressed by the members of BASIS, so the association will be able to improve its performance in the future if it follows the recommendations stated in this study. Software industry in Bangladesh has a lot of potential, and BASIS has a significant role to play to bring this industry to its true potential.
Conceptual Framework for Performance
To analyze the present performance of BASIS, different actions taken by the association in the past are used as a reflection of the performance. Although in the study there are many actions which are analyzed, but the ones that are most significant has been shown in the figure above to get a better picture of the relation among the performance of the association and the factors affecting it. The performance of BASIS is a direct consequence of the effectiveness of the actions taken by the association in assisting its members and in helping the industry to grow

Results of the Study

In this study, there are two hypotheses, as mentioned before, thus there are two dependent variables. They are, * Y1: BASIS has played a significant role in developing the software industry. * Y2: BASIS can play a significant role in the future in developing the software industry.
To draw conclusion on both the hypotheses, different variables have been included in the survey. The variables relevant to the first hypothesis (Y1) are, * X1: SoftExpo * X2: Product and Services Catalogue * X3: International Trade Fairs * X4: ICT Internship Programs * X5: OOP Training * X6: Launching Of BangladesNext * X7: Ease of foreign exchange transactions for BASIS members * X8: Contribution of BASIS in Hi-Tech Park at Gazipur * X9: ICT Policy updated in 2009 * X10: Introduction of ICT Act * X11: Proposed separation of ICT ministry * X12: Tax holiday enjoyed by IT firms * X13: EEF (Equity Entrepreneurship Fund) * X14: Tender system modified to allow local firms to participate
The variables relevant to the second hypothesis (Y2) are, * X15: Increase the member base of BASIS, to make it more influential * X16: Open up an institute to give professional degree to IT graduates like BGMEA Institute of Fashion & Technology * X17: Pursue govt. to improve the internet connection and reduce its cost, through subsidy * X18: Pursue tax holiday for IT firms for 10 years * X19: Pursue govt. to reduce interest rate to the level of other export sectors, thus allowing greater access to finance * X20: Pursue govt. to create a Market Promotion Fund to be administered by EPB for meeting the expenses of promoting Bangladesh as a potential source of Software and Processing Services to the overseas markets * X21: Create special fund for supporting industry oriented IT research and development activities, to be administered by BASIS. The fund should come from govt., international donor bodies, and members of BASIS as well
To collect the data on the above mentioned variables, a questionnaire survey was conducted among the members of BASIS. The sample size of the data is 21. The questionnaire had 5 categories from which the respondent had to choose from, and those categories are, 1 | Strongly Disagree with the statement. | 2 | Disagree with the statement. | 3 | Neutral about the statement. | 4 | Agree with the statement. | 5 | Strongly Agree with the statement. |
Based on the data collected from the survey, different statistical tools will now be used to determine the impact of each variable on their relevant dependent variables. In the sections below, the data will first be represented graphically, then tests on population mean for each variable will be run, cross tables will be prepared for each independent variable with respect to its dependent variable and finally, regression models will be developed and refined.
The use of statistical tools mentioned above is critical as it will allow segregation of the relevant variables, having significant impact on the dependent variable, so that conclusions can be drawn and recommendations can be made.
Data Description
Graphical Representations of the Data
Since the data involved in the study are categorical, bar charts and pie charts have been used to graphically represent the data. Among all the variables, only few of them have been shown below, and the rest of them will be available in appendix.

Figure 1: SoftExpo, an Effective Move by BASIS
Basis SoftExpo is a mega exposition of the software industry, with the aim to exploring new avenue for local hi-tech industry. It is also a festival of innovation where exhibitors showcase their high-end products and services. In the near future, when all our activities become fully virtual, our dependency on software will increase dramatically. This phenomenon will lead to a huge surge of innovative software development. Technologically advanced countries now outsource their software development activities. It could be a very lucrative chance for Bangladesh. Every year Bangladesh Software and Information Services (BASIS) organize SoftExpo in order to showcase innovations of local talents and attract global IT payers to invest in the local IT industry. This year BASIS has taken initiative to kick-start interaction between local and overseas companies through a process called "Match Making". BASIS anticipates that this step will act as a catalyst to draw foreign investment, promoting local innovation in the global market. According to the figure 1, over 80% of the respondents agree that BASIS Soft Expo reflects good performance of BASIS (Singha, 2008).

Almost every year, BASIS organizes or participates in international trade fairs, where local software firms showcase their products and services. Figure 2 shows that around 80% of the respondents believe that such fairs are helpful and BASIS performs well for organizing them. Around 15% believe that such fairs have no impact and around 5% stated that they are harmful.

BCC Internship is a regular program of the Government for fresh IT graduates to enter a professional IT career. From industry end, BASIS has been playing an important role for successful operation of the program. During last 4 years, eight batches of internship have been announced through which over 1,500 intern candidates have done internship (and eventually got hired for regular position after completion of internship) in different IT companies, a majority of which are BASIS members. As per figure 3 Over 80% of the respondents believe that the internship program is a good move by BASIS and it reflects its good performance. It helps the graduates to sharpen their skills and prepare them for the challenges ahead, and allows the companies to groom up the graduates as per their needs (Placement Fair for BCC Intern Applicants, 2010).

Bangladesh Bank has issued a special circular which gives provisions for BASIS member companies for business related foreign exchange transactions. Now, BASIS member companies will be allowed to use maximum US$ 10,000 (per year) for conducting transactions like domain registration, server hosting, software licensing, international alliance etc. BASIS member companies will also be issued International Credit/Debit card with the transaction limit of US$ 1,000. For BASIS members who conduct international e-Commerce business and need to receive payment from foreigners (through international credit card), such amount will come directly to the local bank account (local merchant account) of the company for selling goods/services internationally. According to figure 4, over 80% of the respondents agree that this action reflects good performance of BASIS (Bangladesh Bank Circular to ease foreign exchange transactions , 2010).
BASIS, being the industry representative, have managed to negotiate with the government to allow tax exemptions for software firms. This means that software firms now have greater retained earning than it would otherwise have been. This clearly gives advantage to the software firms and provides a strong encouragement to enter into this industry. Most fast growing sectors are supported by tax holidays, and for the software industry, BASIS has managed to do the same, that’s why, figure 5 shows that 85% of the respondents agree that this action has greatly supported the industry and reflects good performance of BASIS. Only 15% believe that this has no major impact on the industry.
Every year, BASIS prepares a product and service catalogue, which includes details on all the products and services that are provided by the members of BASIS, so that prospective clients can easily contact the right software firms that can cater to their needs. According to figure 6 in appendix, over 70% of the respondents think that it is helpful for their business. This indicates that this action of BASIS reflects good performance on their behalf.
BASIS has taken a program for providing intensive training to fresh CS/CSE graduates as well as working programmers in Object Oriented Programming (OOP) in different technology tracks (Training Program on OOP in PHP (1st Batch)). It helps prepare the graduates for the practical challenges that they will face in real working environment, which can not be achieved through academic degrees. Software industry’s main input is human capital, and through this training program, BASIS contributes significantly to the development of skilled human capital in the industry. As per figure 7 in appendix, around 90% of the respondents believe that BASIS is performing well by providing the trainings.
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) has developed a brand titled “Bangladesh NEXT” to project Bangladesh IT industry in the global market. Like 'Incredible India', the slogan will help showcase the country as an alternative outsourcing hub after India and China (Software makers launch country , 2010). According to figure 8 in the appendix, over 60% of the respondents have agreed that this is a good initiative taken by BASIS and reflects good performance of BASIS.
A high tech park is being built in Kaliakoir, Gazipur which will facilitate many software firms of the country. Many different types of services will be available there, including high speed internet, quick transportation, and uninterrupted power supply and so on. BASIS has helped organize few meetings for the stakeholders of this high tech park. According to figure 9 in appendix, around 50% of the respondents believe that such actions are worthy, and a little less than 50% believe that this action has no impact on the performance of BASIS.
BASIS has played a significant role in forming an ICT Act and updating the policy in 2009. Figure 10 and 11 in appendix shows that most of the respondents believe that this action reflects good performance by BASIS

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BASIS is working relentlessly in the proposed separation of the ICT Ministry. Once this is achieved, the software and information industry of Bangladesh will be better represented. This is particularly important if the industry is to flourish and make its mark in the international market.

Figure 12: Separation of ICT Ministry, an Effective Move by BASIS
According to figure 12 in appendix, around 60% of the respondents believe that this is a bold initiative being pursued by BASIS and reflects positively on the performance of BASIS.
EEF, a government fund, is maintained so that entrepreneurs can have access to finance if they want to venture into the software industry. Access to finance is very limited for the software firms in Bangladesh, especially because they have very little physical asset to put up as collateral and most of the firms are very small in size. This fund acts as a good source of finance. BASIS works closely with the government in maintaining and overseeing this fund. According to figure 13 in appendix, around 60% of the respondents believe that this is important and reflects good performance by BASIS.
BASIS has pursued the government to lax the rules and regulations for bidding in the different government tenders for local firms, as before the amendment, it was very difficult for the local firms to bid, and foreign firms were mostly recruited for the job. Now, local firms can compete and this has increased their opportunity to obtain more work. According to figure 14 in appendix, around 70% of the respondents believe that this is a helpful initiative by BASIS and reflects good performance by BASIS.
Figure 15: Increasing Member Base, Could be an Effective Move by BASIS
To further improve the performance of BASIS in the future, the association should focus on increasing its member base. An association with large member base can put greater pressure on the government and becomes more difficult for the government to neglect. There are around 500 small firms in the software industry who are not yet members of BASIS. Bringing these firms under the membership of BASIS will increase the strength of BASIS. According to figure 15, around 70% of the respondents believe that this is true and this can help improve the performance of BASIS in the future. Although around 20% of the respondents disagree and believe that number of members have no relation to the future performance of BASIS.
As it has been already stated earlier that for the software industry, the most significant input is human resource. The same is true to some extent for the RMG sector of Bangladesh, and recognizing this, the associations for the RMG sector have set up an institute called Bangladesh Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT). BASIS should follow the steps of the RMG sector and set up an professional institution that will provide professional degrees, which graduates can acquire to make them more skilled to serve the software industry. According to figure 16, around 95% of the respondents believe that this is very important for the industry and can significantly improve the performance of BASIS in the future.

High speed internet connectivity is very important for the development of any software industry. In Bangladesh, this poses an obstacle to growth for the software industry. BASIS should pressurize government to improve the internet connectivity in terms of increasing the speed and coverage and reducing the cost. This will help improve the efficiency of the software firms in the industry. This is also important to achieve the goal of “Digital Bangladesh” set the government. According to figure 17 in appendix, around 95% of the respondent agree and believe that this can help improve the performance of BASIS in the future.
If BASIS can pursue the government to give 10 years tax holiday for the local software firms, this will attract greater investments in the industry. With higher investments, the industry will be able to expand at a faster rate and adopt more high tech technologies. This will have an significant impact on the performance of the industry. According to figure 18 in appendix, around 90% of the respondents believe that this is a necessary move which BASIS should pursue and will help improve the performance of BASIS in the future.
Access to finance for software firms is scarce, and whatever is available is very expensive due to the fact that they have very little to offer for collateral. BASIS should pursue the government to reduce the interest rate charged for loans taken by the software firms, so that the firms get the finance that is necessary to expand. Most of the firms operating in the local industry are very small in size, and this makes it very tough for them to compete internationally. According to figure 19 in appendix, around 80% of the respondents believe that this is a constraint to growth and in BASIS can successfully pursue it; it will help improve its performance in the future.
Local software firms lack the exposure they need, both locally and internationally. BASIS should pursue the government to create a market promotion fund, which will be used to promote the local software industry both in the local and international market. This will broaden the market for the software firms and make the industry more lucrative, thus increasing investment and fuelling fast expansion. According to figure 20 in appendix, around 85% of the respondent believe that such a fund could really help the industry and improve the future performance of BASIS.
R&D is crucial for software industry, and individual firms have limited capacity for research. Government should have a fund which will allow research to be conducted which can then be used by all the firms in the industry. BASIS should pressurize government to create such a fund immediately to increase innovation in the industry and promote Bangladesh software industry in the eyes of the international players. According to figure 21 in appendix, around 75% of the respondents believe that such a fund is necessary and it will help improve the future performance of BASIS.

Descriptive Statistics
In this section, descriptive statistics of the data is presented and analyzed.

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for Y1 | | Range | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Variance | Skewness | | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Std. Error | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Std. Error | SoftExpo | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4.24 | .181 | .831 | .690 | -1.074 | .501 | Catalogue | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.10 | .181 | .831 | .690 | -.189 | .501 | International Trade Fairs | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4.10 | .181 | .831 | .690 | -.767 | .501 | ICT Internship Program | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.33 | .159 | .730 | .533 | -.631 | .501 | OOP Training | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.38 | .146 | .669 | .448 | -.626 | .501 | Bangaldesh Next | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3.95 | .189 | .865 | .748 | .097 | .501 | Foreign Exchange Transaction | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.33 | .174 | .796 | .633 | -.707 | .501 | High Tech Park | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3.86 | .252 | 1.153 | 1.329 | -.128 | .501 | ICT Policy Updated | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3.81 | .112 | .512 | .262 | -.355 | .501 | ICT Act | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3.81 | .164 | .750 | .562 | -.450 | .501 | Seperation of ICT Ministry | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3.90 | .181 | .831 | .690 | .189 | .501 | Tax Holiday | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.33 | .159 | .730 | .533 | -.631 | .501 | EEF | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.24 | .181 | .831 | .690 | -.496 | .501 | Tender System | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.00 | .169 | .775 | .600 | .000 | .501 | Has Played A Significant Role | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4.05 | .176 | .805 | .648 | -.727 | .501 |

Table 1 shows the range, minimum and maximum, mean, standard deviation, variance and skewness of all the variables related to the first hypothesis.
As can be seen in the table, the range of all the variables lies between 2 and 3. None of the variables have a minimum value of 1, which indicates that none of the respondents have strongly disagreed with any of the statements in the survey related to the first hypothesis. Furthermore, all the statements have a maximum value of 5, which says that for all the statements, there has been at least one respondent who has strongly agreed with the statement.
It can be seen from table 1 that all the variables except X6, X8, X9, X10 and X11 have a mean value of more than 4. This indicates that on an average, the respondents have agreed with the statements in the survey related to the first hypothesis, except the variables mentioned above. Variable X5 has the highest mean among all the variables and variables X9 and X10 have the lowest mean among all the variables.
All the variables in table 1 except X8 have standard deviation of less than 1, which shows that the variation in data is not much. The variable X8 has the highest standard deviation of 1.153 and the variable X9 has the lowest standard deviation of 0.512.
Most of the variables related to the first hypothesis are negatively skewed, as can be seen from table 1. Only X6 and X11 is positively skewed. Variable X14 is symmetrical, so it’s a normal distribution. The standard error for the skewness of all the variables is 0.501. Table 2: Descriptive Statistics for Y2 | | Range | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Variance | Skewness | | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Std. Error | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Std. Error | Can Play A Significant Role | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4.67 | .105 | .483 | .233 | -.763 | .501 | Increase Member Base | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3.71 | .294 | 1.347 | 1.814 | -1.185 | .501 | Professional Instititue | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.48 | .131 | .602 | .362 | -.662 | .501 | Improve Internet Connectivity | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.76 | .118 | .539 | .290 | -2.318 | .501 | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.57 | .148 | .676 | .457 | -1.357 | .501 |

Table 2: Descriptive Statistics for Y2 | | Range | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Variance | Skewness | | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Std. Error | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Std. Error | Reduce Interest Rate | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4.48 | .178 | .814 | .662 | -1.147 | .501 | Create Market Promotion Fund | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4.29 | .184 | .845 | .714 | -1.166 | .501 | Fund For R&D | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4.14 | .221 | 1.014 | 1.029 | -.947 | .501 |

Table 2 shows the range, minimum and maximum, mean, standard deviation, variance and skewness of all the variables related to the second hypothesis.
As can be seen in the table, the range of all the variables lies between 1 and 4.Only variable X15 has a minimum value of 1, which indicates that none of the respondents have strongly disagreed with any of the statements in the survey related to the second hypothesis except for increasing the member base. Furthermore, all the statements have a maximum value of 5, which says that all the statements, there has been at least one respondent who has strongly agreed with the statement.
It can be seen from table 1 that all the variables except X15 have a mean value of more than 4. This indicates that on an average, the respondents have agreed with the statements in the survey related to the second hypothesis, except the variable mentioned above. Variable X17 has the highest mean among all the variables and variables X15 has the lowest mean among all the variables.
All the variables in table 1 except X15 and X21 have standard deviation of less than 1, which shows that the variation in data is not much. The variable X15 has the highest standard deviation of 1.347 and the variable X17 has the lowest standard deviation of 0.539.
All the variables related to the second hypothesis are negatively skewed, as can be seen from table 2. Variable X17 has the highest skewness. Variable X16 has the lowest skewness. The standard error for the skewness of all the variables is 0.501.
Correlation Analysis Table 3: Correlations of the Variables Related to Y1 | | | X1 | X2 | X3 | X4 | X5 | X6 | X7 | X8 | X9 | X10 | X11 | X12 | X13 | X14 | X1 | Pearson Correlation | 1 | .472* | .472* | .110 | .188 | .504* | .252 | .403 | .112 | -.004 | -.110 | .027 | .203 | .388 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | | .031 | .031 | .635 | .413 | .020 | .270 | .070 | .629 | .987 | .634 | .906 | .376 | .082 | X2 | Pearson Correlation | .472* | 1 | .493* | .439* | .381 | .355 | -.050 | .172 | .162 | -.130 | .014 | -.220 | .038 | .078 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .031 | | .023 | .046 | .088 | .115 | .828 | .457 | .482 | .574 | .953 | .339 | .870 | .738 | X3 | Pearson Correlation | .472* | .493* | 1 | .357 | .201 | .285 | .479* | .485* | .280 | .111 | -.059 | -.137 | .472* | .544* | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .031 | .023 | | .112 | .382 | .210 | .028 | .026 | .219 | .632 | .801 | .553 | .031 | .011 | X4 | Pearson Correlation | .110 | .439* | .357 | 1 | .648** | .264 | .315 | .059 | .178 | -.244 | -.110 | -.219 | -.137 | .088 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .635 | .046 | .112 | | .001 | .248 | .164 | .798 | .439 | .287 | .635 | .341 | .553 | .703 | X5 | Pearson Correlation | .188 | .381 | .201 | .648** | 1 | .465* | .219 | -.185 | -.070 | -.247 | -.201 | .034 | .099 | .193 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .413 | .088 | .382 | .001 | | .034 | .340 | .421 | .765 | .281 | .382 | .883 | .671 | .402 | X6 | Pearson Correlation | .504* | .355 | .285 | .264 | .465* | 1 | .460* | .143 | .317 | .217 | -.076 | -.132 | .017 | .373 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .020 | .115 | .210 | .248 | .034 | | .036 | .535 | .161 | .345 | .743 | .569 | .943 | .096 | X7 | Pearson Correlation | .252 | -.050 | .479* | .315 | .219 | .460* | 1 | .545* | .286 | .279 | -.025 | -.029 | .479* | .487* | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .270 | .828 | .028 | .164 | .340 | .036 | | .011 | .208 | .220 | .914 | .902 | .028 | .025 | X8 | Pearson Correlation | .403 | .172 | .485* | .059 | -.185 | .143 | .545* | 1 | .206 | .025 | .089 | .059 | .455* | .168 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .070 | .457 | .026 | .798 | .421 | .535 | .011 | | .371 | .915 | .700 | .798 | .038 | .467 |

Table 3: Correlations of the Variables Related to Y1 | | | X1 | X2 | X3 | X4 | X5 | X6 | X7 | X8 | X9 | X10 | X11 | X12 | X13 | X14 | X9 | Pearson Correlation | .112 | .162 | .280 | .178 | -.070 | .317 | .286 | .206 | 1 | .552** | .661** | .178 | .112 | .505* | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .629 | .482 | .219 | .439 | .765 | .161 | .208 | .371 | | .009 | .001 | .439 | .629 | .020 | X10 | Pearson Correlation | -.004 | -.130 | .111 | -.244 | -.247 | .217 | .279 | .025 | .552** | 1 | .371 | .030 | .076 | .172 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .987 | .574 | .632 | .287 | .281 | .345 | .220 | .915 | .009 | | .098 | .896 | .742 | .455 | X11 | Pearson Correlation | -.110 | .014 | -.059 | -.110 | -.201 | -.076 | -.025 | .089 | .661** | .371 | 1 | .549** | .107 | .078 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .634 | .953 | .801 | .635 | .382 | .743 | .914 | .700 | .001 | .098 | | .010 | .645 | .738 | X12 | Pearson Correlation | .027 | -.220 | -.137 | -.219 | .034 | -.132 | -.029 | .059 | .178 | .030 | .549** | 1 | .522* | .177 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .906 | .339 | .553 | .341 | .883 | .569 | .902 | .798 | .439 | .896 | .010 | | .015 | .443 | X13 | Pearson Correlation | .203 | .038 | .472* | -.137 | .099 | .017 | .479* | .455* | .112 | .076 | .107 | .522* | 1 | .544* | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .376 | .870 | .031 | .553 | .671 | .943 | .028 | .038 | .629 | .742 | .645 | .015 | | .011 | X14 | Pearson Correlation | .388 | .078 | .544* | .088 | .193 | .373 | .487* | .168 | .505* | .172 | .078 | .177 | .544* | 1 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .082 | .738 | .011 | .703 | .402 | .096 | .025 | .467 | .020 | .455 | .738 | .443 | .011 | |

Table 3 above shows the correlation among the variables related to the first hypothesis as well as the correlation of each independent variable with the dependent variable. It also shows a statistical test which shows whether the correlations are statistically significant or not.
In table 3, it can be seen that correlation of all the independent variables with the dependent variables are positive except variable X5. This indicates that there is a positive relationship between all the independent variables and the dependent variables except X5. Variables X3 and X8 have particularly high positive correlation with the dependent variable.
In table 3, it can also be seen that few of the independent variables have particularly high correlation among themselves, for example variable X1 and X2. This indicates that few of the independent variables might be related to each other as well.
Now to test the significance of the correlation, a statistical test has been conducted, which is a two tailed test, where the hypothesis is as follows,
H0 : there is no correlation among the variables
H1 : there is correlation among the variables
The result of the tests can be seen in table 3. The correlation between X3 and Y1 is significant at 5% level of significance. This suggests that there is a clear positive relationship between international trade fairs and the present performance of BASIS. Furthermore, the correlation between X8 and Y1 is significant at 1% level of significance. This also suggests that there is a very strong relationship between the construction of the high tech park and the present performance of BASIS

Table 4: Correlations of the Variables Related to Y2 | | | Y2 | X15 | X16 | X17 | X18 | X19 | X20 | X21 | Y2 | Pearson Correlation | 1 | .000 | .401 | -.320 | .000 | .297 | .367 | .204 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | | 1.000 | .071 | .157 | 1.000 | .191 | .101 | .375 | X15 | Pearson Correlation | .000 | 1 | -.071 | .177 | .408 | .130 | .031 | .105 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | 1.000 | | .761 | .442 | .066 | .573 | .893 | .652 | X16 | Pearson Correlation | .401 | -.071 | 1 | .059 | .035 | .535* | .407 | .293 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .071 | .761 | | .800 | .880 | .012 | .067 | .198 | X17 | Pearson Correlation | -.320 | .177 | .059 | 1 | -.020 | .157 | .047 | .065 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .157 | .442 | .800 | | .933 | .495 | .840 | .778 | X18 | Pearson Correlation | .000 | .408 | .035 | -.020 | 1 | .390 | .400 | .531* | | Sig. (2-tailed) | 1.000 | .066 | .880 | .933 | | .081 | .072 | .013 | X19 | Pearson Correlation | .297 | .130 | .535* | .157 | .390 | 1 | .519* | .641** | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .191 | .573 | .012 | .495 | .081 | | .016 | .002 |

Table 4: Correlations of the Variables Related to Y2 | | | Y2 | X15 | X16 | X17 | X18 | X19 | X20 | X21 | X20 | Pearson Correlation | .367 | .031 | .407 | .047 | .400 | .519* | 1 | .708** | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .101 | .893 | .067 | .840 | .072 | .016 | | .000 | X21 | Pearson Correlation | .204 | .105 | .293 | .065 | .531* | .641** | .708** | 1 | | Sig. (2-tailed) | .375 | .652 | .198 | .778 | .013 | .002 | .000 | |

Table 4 above shows the correlation among the variables related to the second hypothesis as well as the correlation of each independent variable with the dependent variable. It also shows a statistical test which shows whether the correlations are statistically significant or not.
In table 4, it can bee seen that correlation of all the independent variables with the dependent variables are positive. This indicates that there is a positive relationship between all the independent variables and the dependent variables. Variables X18, X19 and X20 have particularly high positive correlation with the dependent variable.
In table 4, it can also be seen that few of the independent variables have particularly high correlation among themselves, for example variable X16 and X19. This indicates that few of the independent variables might be related to each other as well.
Now to test the significance of the correlation, a statistical test has been conducted, which is a two tailed test, where the hypothesis is as follows,
H0 : there is no correlation among the variables
H1 : there is correlation among the variables
The result of the tests can be seen in table 4. The correlation between X18 and Y2 is significant at 5% level of significance. This suggests that there is a clear positive relationship between tax holiday for 10 years and the future performance of BASIS. Furthermore, the correlation between X19 and Y2 and also X20 and Y2 is significant at 1% level of significance. This also suggests that there is a very strong relationship between the reduced interest rate and creation of market promotion fund and the future performance of BASIS.
In the above section, the descriptive statistics of the data related to both the hypotheses has been presented and analyzed. It has revealed that on an average, most of the respondents have agreed that BASIS has played a significant role and also can play a greater role in the future. As the standard deviation of most of the variables is less than 1, it shows the stability of the data. And the correlations and its corresponding statistical tests show that there is relationship among a good number of independent variables with the dependent variables, as well as revealing some relationship among the independent variables themselves.

Inferential Statistics
Testing Mean
In this section, a mean test for each of the independent variables has been performed, to figure out the significance of the mean. A one tailed t- test has been performed, including a 95% confidence interval. The hypothesis for the test has been given below,
H0: population mean of the variables are 3.2
H1: population mean of the variables are greater than 3.2

One-Sample T-Test:

Test of µ = 3.2 vs µ > 3.2

Table 5: Mean Tests for Variables Related to Y1 | Variable | Mean | StDev Mean | SE | X1 | 4.238 | 0.831 | 0.181 | X2 | 4.095 | 0.831 | 0.181 | X3 | 4.095 | 0.831 | 0.181 | X4 | 4.333 | 0.730 | 0.159 | X5 | 4.381 | 0.669 | 0.146 | X6 | 3.952 | 0.865 | 0.189 |

Table 5: Mean Tests for Variables Related to Y1 | Variable | Mean | StDev Mean | SE | X7 | 4.333 | 0.796 | 0.174 | X8 | 3.857 | 1.153 | 0.252 | X9 | 3.810 | 0.512 | 0.112 | X10 | 3.810 | 0.750 | 0.164 | X11 | 3.905 | 0.831 | 0.181 | X12 | 4.333 | 0.730 | 0.159 | X13 | 4.238 | 0.831 | 0.181 | X14 | 4.000 | 0.775 | 0.169 |

Table 5: Mean Tests for Variables Related to Y1 | Variable | 95.0% Lower Bound | T | P | X1 | 3.925 | 5.72 | 0.000 | X2 | 3.782 | 4.94 | 0.000 | X3 | 3.782 | 4.94 | 0.000 | X4 | 4.058 | 7.11 | 0.000 | X5 | 4.129 | 8.09 | 0.000 | X6 | 3.627 | 3.99 | 0.000 | X7 | 4.034 | 6.53 | 0.000 | X8 | 3.423 | 2.61 | 0.008 | X9 | 3.617 | 5.46 | 0.000 | X10 | 3.527 | 3.73 | 0.001 | X11 | 3.592 | 3.89 | 0.000 | X12 | 4.058 | 7.11 | 0.000 | X13 | 3.925 | 5.72 | 0.000 | X14 | 3.708 | 4.73 | 0.000 |

Table 5 above show the mean tests for all the independent variables related to the first hypothesis. It can be seen from the table that all the test results are significant at 1% level of significance. This indicates that population mean for all the variables are very much likely to be more than 3.2. It suggests that, on an average, the firms in the software industry agree that so far BASIS has played a significant role.

One-Sample T-Test:

Test of µ = 3.2 vs µ > 3.2

Table 6: Mean Tests for Variables Related to Y2 | Variable | Mean | StDev Mean | SE | X15 | 3.714 | 1.347 | 0.294 | X16 | 4.476 | 0.602 | 0.131 | X17 | 4.762 | 0.539 | 0.118 | X18 | 4.571 | 0.676 | 0.148 | X19 | 4.476 | 0.814 | 0.178 | X20 | 4.286 | 0.845 | 0.184 | X21 | 4.143 | 1.014 | 0.221 |

Table 6: Mean Tests for Variables Related to Y2 | Variable | 95.0% Lower Bound | T | P | X15 | 3.207 | 1.75 | 0.048 | X16 | 4.250 | 9.72 | 0.000 | X17 | 4.559 | 13.28 | 0.000 | X18 | 4.317 | 9.30 | 0.000 | X19 | 4.170 | 7.19 | 0.000 | X20 | 3.968 | 5.89 | 0.000 | X21 | 3.761 | 4.26 | 0.000 |

Table 6 above show the mean tests for all the independent variables related to the first hypothesis. It can be seen from the table that all the test results are significant at 1% level of significance except X15, which is significant at 5%. This indicates that that population mean for all the variables are very much likely to be more than 3.2. It suggests that, on an average, the firms in the software industry agree that so far BASIS has played a significant role.

Comparison of Present and Future Performance * Performance is dependent on different actions of BASIS. * Successful actions are further refined to make future suggestions. * Increasing member base will boost the success of SoftExpo * Professional institute will improve the training initiatives. * Creation of promotion funds will increase the exposure for the country.
Being an association, the performance is dependent on the different actions taken over the course of time. The effectiveness of the actions defines the performance, and the benefits are directly enjoyed by the members of the association, and are reflected over the performance of the industry as a whole. The present performance of the association is based on the actions taken so far, and their effectiveness. Whereas, the future performance depends on the capacity of the association to effectively execute actions recommended by the members and also suggested by this study.
According to the survey conducted, where members expressed their opinion on the different actions taken by BASIS so far, the actions which have proven to be most effective have been further refined and suggested as future courses of actions for the association to implement. This suggests that there would be some sort of relationship between the present and future performance.
For example, based on the success of SoftExpo and preparation of product and service catalogues, it has been suggested that BASIS should focus on increasing its member base, and by doing so, future SoftExpos would be more successful and the product and service catalogues would be more useful. Furthermore, the success of ICT Internship Program and OOP training indicates that BASIS should establish a professional institute which will prepare IT graduates to enter the professional market. And finally, the success of the brand “BangladeshNext” suggests that BASIS should pursue government to create a Market Promotion Fund to further promote the country as an IT destination in the international market.
According to the survey, the members of BASIS believes that the association has the capacity to perform really well in the future and contribute to the growth of the industry.
Testing Mean Difference

To analyze the change in performance from present to future, the statistical tool where mean difference is tested has been used. The hypothesis for the test has been stated below
H0 : µ1 - µ2 = 0
H1 : µ1 - µ2 ≠ 0
The table below shows 5 pairs, for which mean difference test has been performed. Out of the 5 pairs, only the mean difference test for pair 2 is statistically significant at 1% level of significance, and the rest of the pairs are not statistically significant. This suggests that, the development of the High Tech Park will result in a significant improvement on the internet connectivity, especially for the members of BASIS. For the rest of the pairs, since the tests are not statistically significant, it suggests that the improvements in the future performance is not significantly different from the present performance.
Table 7: Testing Mean Difference for relevant variables Paired Differences | | | | 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference | t | Sig (2-tailed) | | | Mean | Std. Deviation | Std. Error Mean | Lower | Upper | | | Pair 1 | OOP Training - Professional Instititue | -.095 | .831 | .181 | -.473 | .283 | -.525 | .605 |

Table 7: Testing Mean Difference for relevant variables | Paired Differences | | | | | | 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference | t | Sig (2-tailed) | | | Mean | Std. Deviation | Std. Error Mean | Lower | Upper | | | Pair 2 | High Tech Park - Improve Internet Connectivity | -.905 | 1.411 | .308 | -1.547 | -.263 | -2.939 | .008 | Pair 3 | ICT Internship Program - Professional Instititue | -.143 | 1.014 | .221 | -.605 | .319 | -.645 | .526 | Pair 4 | Catalogue - Increase Member Base | .381 | 1.857 | .405 | -.464 | 1.226 | .940 | .358 | Pair 5 | International Trade Fairs - Create Market Promotion Fund | -.190 | 1.365 | .298 | -.812 | .431 | -.640 | .530 |

Cross Tables

In this section, cross tables for all the independent variables with respect to their corresponding dependent variables have been presented. In each cross table, a chi-square test has been performed. The hypothesis for the tests is as follows
H0 : X and Y are independent
H1 : X and Y are dependent
In this section, only two cross tables have been presented, and the rest of the cross tables are available in the appendix in table 9 to 27. Table 8: Crosstable of High Tech Park & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | High Tech Park | Disagree | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | Neutral | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 8: Chi-Square Tests of High Tech Park & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 16.669a | 6 | .011 | Likelihood Ratio | 13.524 | 6 | .035 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 7.215 | 1 | .007 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

In table 8, we can see that the chi-square test is significant at 5% level of significance. This states that alternative hypothesis is true, so X8 and Y1 is dependent. So this suggests that there is a relationship between the variables.

Table 9: Crosstable of EEF & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | EEF | Neutral | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | | Agree | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 10 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 9: Chi-Square Tests of EEF & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role of EEF & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 14.170a | 6 | .028 | Likelihood Ratio | 16.020 | 6 | .014 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .347 | 1 | .556 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

In table 9, we can see that the chi-square test is significant at 5% level of significance. This states that alternative hypothesis is true, so X13 and Y1 is dependent. So this suggests that there is a relationship between the variables.
The use of cross tables reveals that most of the variables are independent from Y. With regard to the first hypothesis, only two variables show that they are dependent with Y1. There is no such variable for the second hypothesis.
Factor Analysis
In this study, the survey questionnaire used includes a lot of variables which is believed to have an impact on the present and future performance of BASIS. As a result, it is important to narrow down the variables, to find out the relevant variables. Factor analysis is a great statistical tool which can be used for this purpose.
According to the survey questionnaire, which is available in the appendix, question 2 has 8 dimensions. Firstly, a factor analysis has been done on those 8 dimension and the results are presented below.

Table 10 :KMO and Bartlett's Test for the 8 Dimensions of Question 2 | Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. | .581 | Bartlett's Test of Sphericity | Approx. Chi-Square | 62.286 | | df | 28 | | Sig. | .000 |

The table above shows the KMO measure, which is 0.581. Since it is greater than 0.5, it can be safely said that factor analysis will yield distinct and reliable factors. The table also shows that the Bartlett’s Test is significant at 1% level of significance, which suggests that the original correlation matrix is not an identity matrix, which is vital for factor analysis.

Table 10: Total Variance Explained for the 8 Dimensions of Question 2 | Component | Initial Eigenvalues | Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings | Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings | | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | 1 | 3.271 | 40.891 | 40.891 | 3.271 | 40.891 | 40.891 | 2.092 | 26.146 | 26.146 | 2 | 1.631 | 20.389 | 61.280 | 1.631 | 20.389 | 61.280 | 1.958 | 24.479 | 50.625 | 3 | 1.092 | 13.647 | 74.927 | 1.092 | 13.647 | 74.927 | 1.944 | 24.302 | 74.927 | 4 | .886 | 11.070 | 85.997 | | | | | | | 5 | .398 | 4.972 | 90.969 | | | | | | | 6 | .351 | 4.391 | 95.361 | | | | | | | 7 | .237 | 2.959 | 98.320 | | | | | | | 8 | .134 | 1.680 | 100.000 | | | | | | |

In the table above, the Eigen values of all the factors can be seen. Factor 1 explains 40.891 % of the variation, and factor 2 and 3 explained 20.389 % and 13.647 % respectively. The factors with Eigenvalues greater than 1 has been retained and then rotated. There are only 3 factors with Eigenvalues greater than 1. Rotation equalizes the relative importance of the 3 factors, for example, before rotation, factor 1 explained around 40% of the variatoin whereas factor 2 and 3 explained significantly less. But after rotation, factor 1 explained 26% of the variation, and factor 2 and 3 explained around 24% of the variation.

Figure 22: Scree Plot for the 8 Dimensions of Question 2
The figure above shows the Scree plot for the 8 dimensions of question 2, and we can see that the point of inflexion occurs after 3 factors, which also suggests that there are 3 relevant factors. Finally, to test the reliability of the scales, Cronbach’s Alpha has been used, and the value is 0.779, which suggests that the scales are sufficiently reliable.
According to the survey questionnaire, which is available in the appendix, question 4 has 6 dimensions. Firstly, a factor analysis has been done on those 6 dimensions and the KMO measure was 0.463, which is below 0.5, indicating sampling inadequacy. To improve the sampling adequacy, two of the dimensions have been excluded, which are X13 and X14. As a result, the KMO measure improved to 0.566, which has been shown in the table below. The table also shows that the Bartlett’s Test is significant at 1% level of significance, which suggests that the original correlation matrix is not an identity matrix, which is vital for factor analysis. Table 11: KMO and Bartlett's Test for Question 4 | Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. | .566 | Bartlett's Test of Sphericity | Approx. Chi-Square | 24.954 | | df | 6 | | Sig. | .000 |

Table 12: Total Variance Explained by the Dimensions in Question 4 | Component | Initial Eigenvalues | Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings | Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings | | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | 1 | 2.235 | 55.873 | 55.873 | 2.235 | 55.873 | 55.873 | 1.814 | 45.348 | 45.348 | 2 | 1.081 | 27.026 | 82.899 | 1.081 | 27.026 | 82.899 | 1.502 | 37.551 | 82.899 | 3 | .464 | 11.596 | 94.495 | | | | | | | 4 | .220 | 5.505 | 100.000 | | | | | | |

In the table above, the Eigenvalues of all the factors can be seen. Factor 1 explains 55.873 % of the variation, and factor 2 explained 27.026 %. The factors with Eigenvalues greater than 1 has been retained and then rotated. There are only 2 factors with Eigenvalues greater than 1. Rotation equalizes the relative importance of the 2 factors, for example, before rotation, factor 1 explained around 55% of the variatoin whereas factor 2 and 3 explained significantly less. But after rotation, factor 1 explained 45% of the variation, and factor 2 explained around 37% of the variation.

Figure 23: Scree Plot for the Dimensions in Question 4

The figure above shows the Scree plot for the 4 dimensions of question 4, and we can see that the plot is very difficult to interpret as the point of inflexion does not occur clearly. Finally, to test the reliability of the scales, Cronbach’s Alpha has been used, and the value is 0.703, which suggests that the scales are sufficiently reliable.

Table 13: Rotated Component Matrix for Y1 Rotated Component Matrix | | Component | | 1 | 2 | 3 | OOP Training | .912 | | | ICT Internship Program | .817 | | | Bangaldesh Next | .519 | | | Catalogue | | .843 | | SoftExpo | | .786 | | International Trade Fairs | | .586 | .520 | Foreign Exchange Transaction | | | .910 | High Tech Park | | | .781 | | Rotated Component Matrix | | Component | | 1 | 2 | ICT Act | .877 | | ICT Policy Updated | .851 | | Tax Holiday | | .941 | Seperation of ICT Ministry | .564 | .730 | |

The table above shows that the variables X5, X2, X7, X10 and X12 are very well explained. So a regression model for Y1 has been prepared and the results are presented below.

Table 14: Model Summary for Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .351 | .124 | -.169 | .870 |

The table above shows that the variables included in the model fails to explain the variations well.

Table 15: ANOVA for the Regression Model of Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.600 | 5 | .320 | .423 | .826 | | Residual | 11.352 | 15 | .757 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

The table above shows that the model test is highly insignificant, which clearly states that the model fit is not satisfactory.

Table 16: Coefficients of the Regression Model for Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | 1 | (Constant) | 2.426 | 2.373 | | 1.022 | .323 | | ICT Act | .110 | .287 | .103 | .385 | .706 | | Tax Holiday | .145 | .277 | .131 | .523 | .608 | | OOP Training | -.309 | .347 | -.257 | -.892 | .386 | | Catalogue | .282 | .265 | .292 | 1.064 | .304 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | .178 | .272 | .176 | .656 | .522 |
The tale above shows that none of the variables included in the regression model are statistically significant, which suggests that the model needs refinement, which has been done in the later sections of the study.

According to the survey questionnaire, which is available in the appendix, question 9 has 7 dimensions. Firstly, a factor analysis has been done on those 7 dimension and the results are presented below. Table 17:KMO and Bartlett's Test for the 7 dimensions of Question 9 | Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. | .676 | Bartlett's Test of Sphericity | Approx. Chi-Square | 39.597 | | df | 21 | | Sig. | .008 |

The table above shows the KMO measure, which is 0.676. Since it is greater than 0.5, it can be safely said that factor analysis will yield distinct and reliable factors. The table also shows that the Bartlett’s Test is significant at 1% level of significance, which suggests that the original correlation matrix is not an identity matrix, which is vital for factor analysis. Table 18: Total Variance Explained for the 7 Dimensions of Question 9 | Component | Initial Eigenvalues | Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings | Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings | | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | Total | % of Variance | Cumulative % | 1 | 2.900 | 41.433 | 41.433 | 2.900 | 41.433 | 41.433 | 2.708 | 38.685 | 38.685 | 2 | 1.328 | 18.975 | 60.407 | 1.328 | 18.975 | 60.407 | 1.505 | 21.503 | 60.188 | 3 | 1.063 | 15.182 | 75.590 | 1.063 | 15.182 | 75.590 | 1.078 | 15.401 | 75.590 | 4 | .705 | 10.077 | 85.666 | | | | | | | 5 | .436 | 6.222 | 91.888 | | | | | | | 6 | .354 | 5.062 | 96.950 | | | | | | | 7 | .214 | 3.050 | 100.000 | | | | | | |

In the table above, the Eigen values of all the factors can be seen. Factor 1 explains 41.433 % of the variation, and factor 2 and 3 explained 18.975 % and 15.182 % respectively. The factors with Eigen values greater than 1 has been retained and then rotated. There are only 3 factors with Eigen values greater than 1. Rotation equalizes the relative importance of the 3 factors, for example, before rotation, factor 1 explained around 41% of the variatoin whereas factor 2 and 3 explained significantly less. But after rotation, factor 1 explained 38% of the variation, and factor 2 and 3 explained around 21% and 15% of the variation respectively.

Figure 24: Scree Plot for the 7 Dimensions of Question 9
The figure above shows the Scree plot for the 7 dimensions of question 9, and we can see that the point of inflexion occurs after 3 factors, which also suggests that there are 3 relevant factors. Finally, to test the reliability of the scales, Cronbach’s Alpha has been used, and the value is 0.691, which suggests that the scales are sufficiently reliable. Table 19: Rotated Component Matrixa for Question 9 | | Component | | 1 | 2 | 3 | Reduce Interest Rate | .828 | | | Create Market Promotion Fund | .823 | | | Fund For R&D | .815 | | | Professional Instititue | .704 | | | Increase Member Base | | .805 | | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | .422 | .764 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | | | .928 |
The table above shows that component 1 explains X19 very well, component 2 explains X15 very well and component 3 explains X17 very well. So, using these variables, a regression model has been run, and the results are presented below.

Table 20: Model Summary for the Regression of Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .476a | .227 | .090 | .461 |

The table above shows that the model suggested by the factor analysis has a very low Adjusted R2 value of only 9%. Table 21: ANOVAb for the Regression Model of Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.057 | 3 | .352 | 1.660 | .213a | | Residual | 3.609 | 17 | .212 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

The table above shows that model test is not significant at even 10% level of significance, suggesting poor adequacy of the model.

Table 22: Coefficientsa for the Regression Model of Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | 1 | (Constant) | 5.318 | 1.014 | | 5.242 | .000 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.340 | .196 | -.380 | -1.735 | .101 | | Reduce Interest Rate | .210 | .129 | .354 | 1.629 | .122 | | Increase Member Base | .008 | .078 | .021 | .097 | .924 |

From the above model, we see that none of the variables included are statistically significant. This suggests that further refinement is necessary, which has been done in the later section of the study.

Regression Analysis

In this section, regression equations will be used to build a model for each of the dependent variables. For each model, a model test (F- test) will be performed. And furthermore, variable test (t- test) will be performed for each of the independent variables.
Table 23: Regression Analysis on Y1 Model Summary of the Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .831a | .691 | .559 | .535 | ANOVAb of the Regression Model of Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 8.949 | 6 | 1.492 | 5.217 | .005a | | Residual | 4.003 | 14 | .286 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | | Coefficientsa of the Regression Equation of Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 1.303 | 1.170 | | 1.114 | .284 | | | | | Catalogue | -.395 | .202 | -.408 | -1.953 | .071 | .142 | -.463 | -.290 | | International Trade Fairs | .371 | .209 | .383 | 1.778 | .097 | .442 | .429 | .264 | | ICT Internship Program | .549 | .227 | .498 | 2.419 | .030 | .142 | .543 | .359 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.850 | .244 | -.841 | -3.481 | .004 | .130 | -.681 | -.517 | | High Tech Park | .631 | .142 | .903 | 4.435 | .001 | .601 | .764 | .659 | | ICT Act | .451 | .187 | .420 | 2.417 | .030 | .182 | .543 | .359 |

Table 28 above shows the final regression model for the Y1. The final model has 6 of the variables left, whereas the first model had 14 variables.
The first model for Y1 is shown in table 30 in appendix. According to the model summary table, the adjusted R2 is only 0.245. This suggests that only 24.5% of the total variation in Y1 can be explained by the independent variables entered into the model. Here we conduct a model test (F- test), and the hypothesis for the test is as follows,
H0 : The regression model is not adequate
H1 : The regression model is adequate
According to the ANOVA table, it can be seen that the null hypothesis can not be rejected even at 10% level of significance, which suggests that the model is not adequate and needs further refinement.
To check the significance of the independent variables entered, we conduct the variable test (t- test), and the hypothesis for the test is as follows,
H0 : βi = 0
H1 : βi ≠ 0
In the first model, we see that none of the 14 variables are statistically significant even at 10% level of significance. This also suggested that the variables entered in the model needs to be refined.
To refine the model, the most insignificant variable previously entered is removed and the model is run again. In the new model, the adjusted R2 is checked again to see if it has increase, so that the variables entered can better explain the variation of the dependent variable. And model test is done to see if the model is adequate or not. And also variable tests are done to see whether the variables entered are significant or not. This process is continued till the adjusted R2 keeps on rising and the model test states that the model is adequate, and also that the variables entered are all statistically significant. By following this process, the final model for Y1 has been achieved and it is shown in table 28 above.
In the final model, the adjusted R2 is 0.559, which suggests that around 56% of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by the variables entered in the model. This is much better than the first model. The ANOVA table shows that the model test is significant at 1% level of significance, so the model is adequate. And all the variables entered in the final model are at least statistically significant at 10% level of significance.
In the final model, variable X3, X4, X8 and X10 have positive coefficients. This suggests that they have a positive relationship with the Y1. Variable X2 and X7 have negative coefficients, which suggest that they have negative relationship with Y1.
So the final model for Y1 in equation form would be as follows,
Y1 = -0.395X2 + 0.371X3 + 0.549X4 - 0.850X7 + 0.631X8 + 0.451X10

Figure 25: NPP Plot for Y1 Figure 25 above shows the NPP plot for the final model on Y1.

Table 24: Regression Analysis on Y2 | Model Summary of the Regression on Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .529a | .280 | .200 | .432 |

Table 25: ANOVAb of the Regression Model of Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.305 | 2 | .653 | 3.495 | .052a | | Residual | 3.361 | 18 | .187 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

Table 26:Coefficientsa of the Regression Equation of Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 4.623 | 1.089 | | 4.244 | .000 | | | | | Professional Instititue | .339 | .161 | .422 | 2.105 | .050 | .401 | .444 | .421 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.309 | .180 | -.345 | -1.721 | .102 | -.320 | -.376 | -.344 |

Table 29 above shows the final regression model for the Y2. The final model has 2 of the variables left, whereas the first model had 7 variables.
The first model for Y2 is shown in table 38 in appendix. According to the model summary table, the adjusted R2 is only 0.061. This suggests that only 6.1% of the total variation in Y2 can be explained by the independent variables entered into the model. Here we conduct a model test (F- test), and the hypothesis for the test is as follows,

H0 : The regression model is not adequate
H1 : The regression model is adequate
According to the ANOVA table, it can be seen that the null hypothesis can not be rejected even at 10% level of significance, which suggests that the model is not adequate and needs further refinement.
To check the significance of the independent variables entered, we conduct the variable test (t- test), and the hypothesis for the test is as follows,
H0 : βi = 0
H1 : βi ≠ 0
In the first model, we see that none of the variables are statistically significant even at 10% level of significance except for variable X17. This also suggested that most of the variables entered in the model needs to be refined.
To refine the model, the most insignificant variable previously entered is removed and the model is run again. In the new model, the adjusted R2 is checked again to see if it has increased, so that the variables entered can better explain the variation of the dependent variable. And model test is done to see if the model is adequate or not. And also variable tests are done to see whether the variables entered are significant or not. This process is continued till the adjusted R2 keeps on rising and the model test states that the model is adequate, and also that the variables entered are all statistically significant. By following this process, the final model for Y2 has been achieved and it is shown in table 29 above.
In the final model, the adjusted R2 is 0.2, which suggests that around 20% of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by the variables entered in the model. This is much better than the first model. The ANOVA table shows that the model test is significant at 10% level of significance, so the model is adequate. And all the variables entered in the final model are at least statistically significant at 10% level of significance, although variable X17 has a slightly greater p- value than 0.10.
In the final model, variable X16 has a positive coefficient. This suggests that they have a positive relationship with the Y2. Variable X17 has a negative coefficient, which suggests that it has negative relationship with Y2.
So the final model for Y1 in equation form would be as follows,
Y1 = 0.339X16 - 0.309X17

Figure 26: NPP Plot for Y2
Figure 26 above shows the NPP plot for the final model on Y1.

Recommendations
The objective of this study was to find out the present performance of BASIS and whether the association can play a greater role in the future to develop the software industry of Bangladesh. Based on the results obtained from the primary data, the members of BASIS has expressed that BASIS can play a significant role in developing the industry. The recommendations drawn in this section are mostly based on the surveys and the informal interviews given by few of the top officials of particular companies. 1. Increase the member base – software industry of Bangladesh has over 800 small and medium firms, of which only around 370 are members of BASIS. So less than 50% of the firms in the industry are members of BASIS. The association should work on increasing the member base, to include all the firms in the industry, both small and medium, under its membership. BASIS as an association represents the software industry of Bangladesh. Now this will not be true if more than 50% of the firms in the industry are not its members. Furthermore, if more firms are members of BASIS, it will allow the association greater strength to negotiate with the government. It will be very difficult for the government to neglect the opinions of an association with 800 members rather than only 370 members. BASIS should reach out to all these firms, and should convince them to be their members. They should state what they do and how they can help the firms if they become their member. They can even hold a conference where they can invite all the member and non-member firms under one roof and exchange views so that the non-member firms get an opportunity to communicate with member firms and find out the advantages and disadvantages of being BASIS member. So, the performance of BASIS can be improved significantly by increasing its member base. 2. Open up a professional institute – BASIS can contribute significantly to the industry by establishing a professional institute, where students interested in the IT sector can enroll for professional degrees to enhance their skills in line with the requirement of the industry. The RMG sector of Bangladesh has done it, where BGMEA has established such a professional institute called Bangladesh Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT). The curriculum in BIFT is updated frequently to match the needs of the industry, and they are producing skilled labor force ready to serve the RMG sector of Bangladesh. BASIS can open such an institute to produce skilled IT professionals, and the curriculum should be in line with the industry requirements. This is particularly important for the software industry as its main input is human capital. This will greatly benefit the students and the companies, and in the process the industry itself. India has done this a long time back, and now they produce on of the finest IT graduates in the world. It not only meets the local demand, but also serves the international market. BASIS should take such an initiative very soon, and this will definitely have a positive impact on the future performance of BASIS. 3. Bangladesh government has a vision to transform Bangladesh into “Digital Bangladesh”, but one of the most basic requirements to achieve the vision, internet connectivity, is very poor and expensive. Internet connectivity constitutes the most infrastructures for the software industry. But in Bangladesh, the internet speed is very slow, unreliable and comparatively expensive. This has a negative impact on the efficiency of the software firms, and thus takes away their competitive advantage over rivals. For the software industry to flourish, the government must ensure fast and reliable internet connection at affordable rates. And BASIS should pursue the government to make this happen. They can use their lobbying power to pressurize the government to take immediate action in this regard. If BASIS can pursue this successfully, this will definitely have a positive impact on its future performance. 4. Tax holiday for IT firms - To support the infant industries, government provides extended tax holidays. This increases their profit margin and attracts greater investment in the particular industry. The software industry of Bangladesh is such an infant industry and the government should offer extended tax holiday for the firms in this industry. BASIS should pursue the government to create a policy to provide tax exemption for the firms in the software industry for at least 10 years. This will encourage more entrepreneurs to enter the software industry and increase the investment in the sector, which is vital for sustaining its growth. Only BASIS can do this on behalf of all the software firms, and if BASIS can do this, this will have a significant impact on the future performance of BASIS. 5. Reduce interest rate – software firms often find it very difficult to obtain finance for their expansion plans. This is because most of the financial institutions in Bangladesh require collateral before they disburse any loan to firms. But most of the software firms are small in size, and they have very little physical assets to offer as collateral. As a result, they find it very difficult to obtain finance for their expansion and even if they do, the interest charged is exorbitant, so they fail to grab a greater share of the local and international market. It is very difficult for entrepreneurs to run a business on entirely their own capital. BASIS can play a role to solve this problem, they should convince the financial institutions, with the help of the government to allow greater access to finance for the software firms and at a reasonable interest rate. This will allow the firms to expand their size and reach its potential. BASIS’s future performance will increase significantly if they can convince the financial institutions to disburse loans to the software firms at a very reasonable interest rate. 6. Create Market Promotion Fund – BASIS should pursue government to create a Market Promotion Fund to be administered by EPB for meeting the expenses of promoting Bangladesh as a potential source of Software and Processing Services to the overseas markets. Although the local market is growing fast, but it is also very important for the firms to enter the international market. But it is not possible for any single firm to market themselves in the international market, so it is up to the government to promote the local software firms in the international market. Now BASIS should pursue the government to create a Market Promotion Fund, which will be solely used to promote Bangladesh as an IT destination in the international market. This will create greater exposure for the local firms internationally and will help the industry to grow faster. 7. Create special fund for R&D – for a software industry, R&D plays a crucial role. Now as most of the firms in the software industry are very small, they can not afford to spend money for R&D. As a result, government should create a special supporting industry oriented IT research and development activities, and it should be administered by BASIS. The fund should come from government, international donor bodies, and members of BASIS as well. This will encourage innovation, and increase international competitiveness for the local industry. All the firms will be greatly benefitted. This will have a significant positive impact on the future performance of BASIS.

Limitations of the study
The software industry on Bangladesh can be deemed as an infant industry, although it is fast growing. This industry has been neglected for a long time, which can be seen from the fact that there are so few studies that has been conducted on this particular industry. As a result, during the preliminary stages of research, there were very few secondary data available on the industry and no data what so ever related to the topic of this study was available. As a result, a significant portion of this research is solely based on primary data, collected through questionnaire survey and few informal interviews.
Although the software industry is fast growing, but it is very scattered and disorganized in nature. It consists of several small firms, scattered all over Dhaka, and few of the firms are even located outside Dhaka, in cities like Chittagong and Shylet. The sample size of that data for this study is only 21, and this weakens the results obtained from the study. But during the process of data collection, it has been seen that the nature of the industry posed a problem, as well as the lack of willingness by the industry people to be cooperative. The completion of the questionnaire proved to be very difficult as the top officials of the firms in the industry were uncooperative. Despite persuasion, I was able to collect only 21 of the questionnaire out of the 60 distributed among the members of BASIS.
Finally, such research which is mostly based on primary data need a lot of time, as primary data collection can be a lengthy process. For this particular study, only about a month was available for data collection. This is another reason for such a small sample size.
Despite the limitations, this study manages to shed some light on the present performance of BASIS and its future potential.

Conclusion
The software industry of Bangladesh is a fast growing industry, although it is small in size compared to other neighboring countries, but it holds a lot of potential to be a major player in the international market and a key foreign currency earner for the country. The success of this particular industry is vital for the achievement of the vision of “Digital Bangladesh” as well as accommodating the fresh IT graduates of the country, whose numbers are increasing every day. BASIS, being the association representing this industry, holds a major responsibility in making sure that this industry reaches its true potential.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the present performance of BASIS, as well as to ascertain whether BASIS can play a greater role in developing this industry in the future. After analyzing the data collected during the course of this research, it can be clearly said that the members of BASIS strongly believes that BASIS has played a significant role so far in assisting the industry to come to the stage where it is now. Many of the actions that BASIS has taken in the past have proven crucial for the strong growth of the industry, as well as to promote the industry in the international market. For example, BASIS has introduced the ICT Act of 2009, pursued the government to give tax holiday for the software firms, modified the tender system to create a greater local market, and eased foreign exchange transactions for BASIS members. Furthermore, organizing trade fairs, both locally and internationally, as well as launching Bangladesh as a brand for IT location has significantly increased the exposure for the local firms. So it can be clearly said that BASIS’s performance so far has been outstanding in developing the software industry of Bangladesh.
The study also suggests that BASIS can play a greater role in the future, to help the industry achieve its true potential. There are many actions that BASIS can take to make this happen, and the study suggests that most of the BASIS members also feel the same way. For example, BASIS can open a professional institute for the IT graduates, pursue government to improve the internet connectivity and reduce its cost, increase access to finance and tax exemption. All these actions will be very helpful for the industry and will help maintain the growth.
Although the software industry of Bangladesh has a long way to go, and the same is true for BASIS, but through this study, it can be conclusively said that the association can be a major player in developing the software industry. And for this to happen, it is important for the government to assist BASIS, as well as for the members to allow themselves to be united under the leadership of the association. Today BASIS is a small association for a small industry, but it might not be long when it becomes a large association like BGMEA and the industry becomes a major foreign currency earner like RMG.

Bibliography
Bangladesh Bank Circular to ease foreign exchange transactions . (2010, September 2). Retrieved December 21, 2010, from Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS): http://www.basis.org.bd/new/index.php/media/news_detail/16
Bangladesh’s software industry marked an impressive 33 percent growth in export in the last fiscal year (2008-09). (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2010, from Gurumis.com: http://gurumia.com/2009/12/21/bangladeshs-software-industry-marked-an-impressive-33-percent-growth-in-export-in-the-last-fiscal-year-2008-09/
Bangladeshi RMG Sector. (2010, November 9). Retrieved November 28, 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshi_RMG_Sector
Chowdhury, T. (n.d.). A country Report by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Service Software . Retrieved November 10, 2010, from OOBP.org: http://www.oobp.org/Country-specific+Data/Bangladesh/default.aspx
Naim-ul-Karim. (n.d.). The prospects for Bangladesh's software industry. Retrieved December 4, 2010, from The Financial Express: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/04/07/63318.html
Placement Fair for BCC Intern Applicants. (2010, August 28). Retrieved December 21, 2010, from Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS): http://www.basis.org.bd/new/index.php/media/news_detail/13
Singha, E. A. (2008, February 16). Software gala heats up. Retrieved October 2, 2010, from The Daily Star: Internet Edition: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=23509
Size of India’s IT Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2010, from Economy Watch: http://www.economywatch.com/india-it-industry/size.html
Software Industry. (2010, November 15). Retrieved November 28, 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_industry
Software makers launch country . (2010, October 10). Retrieved December 21, 2010, from The Daily Star: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=156899
Training Program on OOP in PHP (1st Batch). (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2010, from Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS): http://www.basis.org.bd/new/index.php/training/detail/14

Appendix

Questionnaire for the Survey

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Questionnaire (BASIS Members)

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Instructions:
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Answer each question by ticking (√) the most appropriate response. There are five boxes numbered 1 to 5. The table below explains each value. Please provide your name, position and the company that you are involved with.
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1 | Strongly Disagree with the statement. | 2 | Disagree with the statement. | 3 | Neutral about the statement. | 4 | Agree with the statement. | 5 | Strongly Agree with the statement. |

Name | | Position | | Organization | |

Q.1 | BASIS has played a significant role for the development of IT industry in Bangladesh. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.2 | The actions of BASIS mentioned below have contributed to the IT industry’s growth. | a. SoftExpo - One of the major aims of the event is to present Bangladesh’s ICT market potentials to the local and international players such as national and international vendors and service providers, investors, development agencies, policy makers and ICT associations etc. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | b. Product and Services Catalogue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | c. International Trade Fairs – E.g US-Bangladesh Technology Summit | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | d. ICT Internship Programs – providing internship opportunity for the IT graduates of the country, and allowing them to acquire practical experience. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | e. OOP Training – training provided by BASIS to IT graduates at BDBL Bhabon to meet the specific requirements of the industry. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | f. Launching Of BangladesNext – a new brand to project the IT industry of Bangladesh. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | g. Ease of foreign exchange transactions for BASIS members – members are allowed to carry out transactions for up to USD 10,000 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | h. Contribution of BASIS in Hi-Tech Park at Gazipur – assisting government and organizing meetings to complete the project. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.3 | BASIS influences government so that the policies are more supportive towards the IT firms in Bangladesh. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.4 | The following government and BASIS collaborated work has contributed in the improvement of the IT industry of Bangladesh. | a. ICT Policy updated in 2009 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | b. Introduction of ICT Act | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | c. Proposed separation of ICT ministry | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | d. Tax holiday enjoyed by IT firms | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | e. EEF (Equity Entrepreneurship Fund) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | f. Tender system modified to allow local firms to participate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Q.5 | The members of BASIS are benefitted significantly due to their membership. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.6 | Bangladesh IT industry can be a major foreign currency earner in the near future? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.7 | BASIS can play a significant role for the development of IT industry in Bangladesh | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.8 | NASCOM (Indian association for the IT industry) has played a significant role in developing the IT industry of India. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.9 | The following actions, if taken by BASIS, will help the IT industry of Bangladesh. | a. Increase the member base of BASIS, to make it more influential, i.e strength by number. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | b. Open up an institute to give professional degree to IT graduates like BGMEA Institute of Fashion & Technology. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | c. Pursue govt. to improve the internet connection and reduce its cost, through subsidy. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | d. Pursue tax holiday for IT firms for 10 years. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | e. Pursue govt. to reduce interest rate to the level of other export sectors, thus allowing greater access to finance. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | f. Pursue govt. to create a Market Promotion Fund to be administered by EPB for meeting the expenses of promoting Bangladesh as a potential source of Software and Processing Services to the overseas markets. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | g. Create special fund for supporting industry oriented IT research and development activities, to be administered by BASIS. The fund should come from govt., international donor bodies, and members of BASIS as well. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.10 | The following constraints are preventing BASIS to contribute to the IT industry of Bangladesh. | a. Lack of member base - Less than 50% of the IT firms are BASIS members. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | b. Lack of fund – to play a more active role, BASIS needs more funds. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | c. Small employee base – to operate more efficiently, BASIS needs to increase the size of its secretariat. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.11 | Members can contribute to BASIS to make it a strong association representing the IT industry of Bangladesh, | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Q.12 | By doing the following things, members of BASIS can help the association to perform better. | a. Being in constant touch with BASIS, sharing your ideas and opinions, and attending all the meetings held by BASIS. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | b. Contribute more financially to strengthen BASIS, make it more active. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | c. Increasing the strength of BASIS by uniting together under the leadership of BASIS. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Cross Tables

Table 27: Crosstable of SoftExpo & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | SoftExpo | Disagree | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Neutral | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | | Agree | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 9 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 28: Chi-Square Tests of SoftExpo & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 11.366a | 9 | .251 | Likelihood Ratio | 11.202 | 9 | .262 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 2.535 | 1 | .111 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 29: Crosstable of Catalogue & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Catalogue | Neutral | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | | Agree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 30: Chi-Square Tests of Catalogue & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 5.222a | 6 | .516 | Likelihood Ratio | 6.423 | 6 | .377 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .406 | 1 | .524 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 31: Crosstable of International Trade Fairs & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | International Trade Fairs | Disagree | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Neutral | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | | Agree | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 10 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 32: Chi-Square Tests of International Trade Fairs & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 12.406a | 9 | .191 | Likelihood Ratio | 11.866 | 9 | .221 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 3.899 | 1 | .048 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 33: Crosstable of ICT Internship Program & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | ICT Internship Program | Neutral | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | | Agree | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 | Table 34: Chi-Square Tests of ICT Internship Program & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 4.166a | 6 | .654 | Likelihood Ratio | 4.929 | 6 | .553 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .402 | 1 | .526 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 34: Crosstable of OOP Training & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | OOP Training | Neutral | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | | Agree | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 9 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 35: Chi-Square Tests of OOP Training & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 5.483a | 6 | .483 | Likelihood Ratio | 6.346 | 6 | .386 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .329 | 1 | .566 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 36: Crosstable of Bangaldesh Next & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Bangaldesh Next | Neutral | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | | Agree | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 37: Chi-Square Tests of Bangaldesh Next & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 8.985a | 6 | .174 | Likelihood Ratio | 11.060 | 6 | .087 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .000 | 1 | .988 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 38: Crosstable of Foreign Exchange Transaction & BAIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | Neutral | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | | Agree | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 39: Chi-Square Tests of Foreign Exchange Transaction & BAIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 3.384a | 6 | .759 | Likelihood Ratio | 4.819 | 6 | .567 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .339 | 1 | .561 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 40: Crosstable of ICT Policy Updated & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | ICT Policy Updated | Neutral | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | | Agree | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 15 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 41: Chi-Square Tests of ICT Policy Updated & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 5.345a | 6 | .500 | Likelihood Ratio | 6.888 | 6 | .331 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 1.414 | 1 | .234 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 42: Crosstable of ICT Act & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | ICT Act | Disagree | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Neutral | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | | Agree | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 12 | | Strongly Agree | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 43: Chi-Square Tests of ICT Act & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 10.585a | 9 | .305 | Likelihood Ratio | 9.624 | 9 | .382 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .659 | 1 | .417 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 44: Crosstable of Seperation of ICT Ministry & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Seperation of ICT Ministry | Neutral | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | | Agree | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 | Table 45: Chi-Square Tests of Seperation of ICT Ministry & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 6.290a | 6 | .392 | Likelihood Ratio | 7.103 | 6 | .311 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .491 | 1 | .484 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 46: Crosstable of Tax Holiday & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Tax Holiday | Neutral | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Agree | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 47: Chi-Square Tests of Tax Holiday & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 5.250a | 6 | .512 | Likelihood Ratio | 6.517 | 6 | .368 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .064 | 1 | .800 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |
Table 19 Table 48: Crosstable of Tender System & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | | Has Played A Significant Role | Total | | | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Tender System | Neutral | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | | Agree | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | Total | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 21 |

Table 49: Chi-Square Tests of Tender System & BASIS Has Played A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 6.045a | 6 | .418 | Likelihood Ratio | 6.427 | 6 | .377 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .000 | 1 | 1.000 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 50: Crosstable of Increase Member Base & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | | Can Play A Significant Role | Total | | | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Increase Member Base | Strongly Disagree | 0 | 3 | 3 | | Disagree | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Neutral | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Agree | 4 | 6 | 10 | | Strongly Agree | 1 | 5 | 6 | Total | 7 | 14 | 21 |

Table 51: Chi-Square Tests of Increase Member Base & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 6.450a | 4 | .168 | Likelihood Ratio | 7.867 | 4 | .097 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .000 | 1 | 1.000 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 52: Crosstable of Professional Instititue & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | | Can Play A Significant Role | Total | | | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Professional Instititue | Neutral | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Agree | 4 | 5 | 9 | | Strongly Agree | 2 | 9 | 11 | Total | 7 | 14 | 21 |

Table 53: Chi-Square Tests of Professional Instititue & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 3.636a | 2 | .162 | Likelihood Ratio | 3.937 | 2 | .140 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 3.224 | 1 | .073 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 54: Crosstable of Improve Internet Connectivity & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | | Can Play A Significant Role | Total | | | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Improve Internet Connectivity | Neutral | 0 | 1 | 1 | | Agree | 0 | 3 | 3 | | Strongly Agree | 7 | 10 | 17 | Total | 7 | 14 | 21 |

Table 55: Chi-Square Tests of Improve Internet Connectivity & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 2.471a | 2 | .291 | Likelihood Ratio | 3.699 | 2 | .157 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 2.049 | 1 | .152 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 56: Crosstable of Tax Holiday For 10 Years & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | | Can Play A Significant Role | Total | | | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | Neutral | 0 | 2 | 2 | | Agree | 3 | 2 | 5 | | Strongly Agree | 4 | 10 | 14 | Total | 7 | 14 | 21 |

Table 57: Chi-Square Tests of Tax Holiday For 10 Years & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 2.743a | 2 | .254 | Likelihood Ratio | 3.252 | 2 | .197 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .000 | 1 | 1.000 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 58: Chi-Square Tests of Reduce Interest Rate & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 2.893a | 2 | .235 | Likelihood Ratio | 2.821 | 2 | .244 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 1.763 | 1 | .184 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 59: Crosstable of Create Market Promotion Fund & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | | Can Play A Significant Role | Total | | | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Create Market Promotion Fund | Disagree | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Neutral | 1 | 1 | 2 | | Agree | 3 | 5 | 8 | | Strongly Agree | 2 | 8 | 10 | Total | 7 | 14 | 21 |

Table 60: Chi-Square Tests of Create Market Promotion Fund & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 3.113a | 3 | .375 | Likelihood Ratio | 3.368 | 3 | .338 | Linear-by-Linear Association | 2.700 | 1 | .100 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Table 61: Crosstable of Fund For R&D & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | | Can Play A Significant Role | Total | | | Agree | Strongly Agree | | Fund For R&D | Disagree | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Neutral | 0 | 3 | 3 | | Agree | 2 | 4 | 6 | | Strongly Agree | 3 | 7 | 10 | Total | 7 | 14 | 21 |

Table 62: Chi-Square Tests of Fund For R&D & BASIS Can Play A Significant Role | | Value | df | Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) | Pearson Chi-Square | 5.550a | 3 | .136 | Likelihood Ratio | 6.878 | 3 | .076 | Linear-by-Linear Association | .833 | 1 | .361 | N of Valid Cases | 21 | | |

Regression Analysis

Table 63: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .879a | .773 | .245 | .699 |

Table 64: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 10.017 | 14 | .716 | 1.463 | .334a | | Residual | 2.935 | 6 | .489 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 65: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .797 | 2.115 | | .377 | .719 | | | | | SoftExpo | .421 | .351 | .435 | 1.200 | .275 | .356 | .440 | .233 | | Catalogue | -.762 | .468 | -.787 | -1.628 | .155 | .142 | -.553 | -.316 | | International Trade Fairs | .431 | .396 | .446 | 1.089 | .318 | .442 | .406 | .212 | | ICT Internship Program | .561 | .688 | .509 | .815 | .446 | .142 | .316 | .158 | | OOP Training | .214 | .534 | .178 | .401 | .703 | -.128 | .161 | .078 | | Bangaldesh Next | .042 | .407 | .045 | .103 | .921 | .003 | .042 | .020 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.989 | .638 | -.978 | -1.550 | .172 | .130 | -.535 | -.301 | | High Tech Park | .527 | .294 | .755 | 1.794 | .123 | .601 | .591 | .349 | | ICT Policy Updated | .288 | 1.040 | .183 | .277 | .791 | .266 | .112 | .054 | | ICT Act | .375 | .417 | .350 | .900 | .403 | .182 | .345 | .175 | | Seperation of ICT Ministry | .113 | .504 | .116 | .224 | .830 | .157 | .091 | .043 | | Tax Holiday | -.252 | .608 | -.229 | -.414 | .693 | .057 | -.167 | -.081 | | EEF | .299 | .658 | .309 | .455 | .665 | .132 | .182 | .088 | | Tender System | -.401 | .545 | -.386 | -.736 | .489 | .000 | -.288 | -.143 |

Table 66: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .879a | .773 | .351 | .648 |

Table 67: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 10.012 | 13 | .770 | 1.833 | .214a | | Residual | 2.940 | 7 | .420 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 68: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .740 | 1.891 | | .391 | .707 | | | | | SoftExpo | .423 | .325 | .436 | 1.301 | .234 | .356 | .441 | .234 | | Catalogue | -.738 | .378 | -.762 | -1.954 | .092 | .142 | -.594 | -.352 | | International Trade Fairs | .437 | .364 | .452 | 1.203 | .268 | .442 | .414 | .217 | | ICT Internship Program | .515 | .487 | .467 | 1.057 | .326 | .142 | .371 | .190 | | OOP Training | .245 | .405 | .204 | .607 | .563 | -.128 | .224 | .109 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.946 | .448 | -.936 | -2.111 | .073 | .130 | -.624 | -.380 | | High Tech Park | .525 | .271 | .752 | 1.934 | .094 | .601 | .590 | .348 | | ICT Policy Updated | .337 | .860 | .214 | .391 | .707 | .266 | .146 | .070 | | ICT Act | .368 | .381 | .343 | .966 | .366 | .182 | .343 | .174 | | Seperation of ICT Ministry | .087 | .405 | .090 | .215 | .836 | .157 | .081 | .039 | | Tax Holiday | -.227 | .518 | -.206 | -.439 | .674 | .057 | -.164 | -.079 | | EEF | .261 | .505 | .270 | .517 | .621 | .132 | .192 | .093 | | Tender System | -.407 | .503 | -.392 | -.809 | .445 | .000 | -.292 | -.146 |

Table 69: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .878a | .771 | .429 | .608 |

Table 70: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 9.993 | 12 | .833 | 2.251 | .128a | | Residual | 2.960 | 8 | .370 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 71: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .693 | 1.762 | | .393 | .705 | | | | | SoftExpo | .401 | .290 | .414 | 1.383 | .204 | .356 | .439 | .234 | | Catalogue | -.710 | .332 | -.733 | -2.138 | .065 | .142 | -.603 | -.361 | | International Trade Fairs | .456 | .331 | .471 | 1.380 | .205 | .442 | .439 | .233 | | ICT Internship Program | .476 | .423 | .432 | 1.123 | .294 | .142 | .369 | .190 | | OOP Training | .237 | .378 | .197 | .627 | .548 | -.128 | .216 | .106 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.913 | .395 | -.903 | -2.313 | .049 | .130 | -.633 | -.391 | | High Tech Park | .517 | .253 | .741 | 2.048 | .075 | .601 | .586 | .346 | | ICT Policy Updated | .440 | .668 | .280 | .659 | .528 | .266 | .227 | .111 | | ICT Act | .352 | .350 | .328 | 1.004 | .345 | .182 | .335 | .170 | | Tax Holiday | -.155 | .369 | -.141 | -.420 | .686 | .057 | -.147 | -.071 | | EEF | .226 | .449 | .234 | .505 | .627 | .132 | .176 | .085 | | Tender System | -.438 | .452 | -.421 | -.969 | .361 | .000 | -.324 | -.164 |

Table 72: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .875a | .766 | .481 | .580 |

Table 73: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 9.927 | 11 | .902 | 2.685 | .074a | | Residual | 3.025 | 9 | .336 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 74: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .513 | 1.630 | | .315 | .760 | | | | | SoftExpo | .340 | .239 | .351 | 1.421 | .189 | .356 | .428 | .229 | | Catalogue | -.633 | .264 | -.654 | -2.397 | .040 | .142 | -.624 | -.386 | | International Trade Fairs | .493 | .304 | .509 | 1.620 | .140 | .442 | .475 | .261 | | ICT Internship Program | .456 | .401 | .414 | 1.136 | .285 | .142 | .354 | .183 | | OOP Training | .202 | .351 | .168 | .575 | .579 | -.128 | .188 | .093 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.847 | .346 | -.838 | -2.452 | .037 | .130 | -.633 | -.395 | | High Tech Park | .533 | .238 | .763 | 2.234 | .052 | .601 | .597 | .360 | | ICT Policy Updated | .290 | .538 | .185 | .540 | .603 | .266 | .177 | .087 | | ICT Act | .377 | .329 | .351 | 1.146 | .281 | .182 | .357 | .185 | | EEF | .079 | .267 | .082 | .297 | .773 | .132 | .098 | .048 | | Tender System | -.363 | .396 | -.350 | -.918 | .383 | .000 | -.292 | -.148 |

Table 75: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .874a | .764 | .528 | .553 |

Table 76: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 9.898 | 10 | .990 | 3.240 | .039a | | Residual | 3.055 | 10 | .305 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 77: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .684 | 1.453 | | .471 | .648 | | | | | SoftExpo | .313 | .211 | .323 | 1.486 | .168 | .356 | .425 | .228 | | Catalogue | -.624 | .250 | -.644 | -2.495 | .032 | .142 | -.619 | -.383 | | International Trade Fairs | .509 | .286 | .525 | 1.781 | .105 | .442 | .491 | .274 | | ICT Internship Program | .405 | .346 | .368 | 1.171 | .269 | .142 | .347 | .180 | | OOP Training | .241 | .311 | .201 | .777 | .455 | -.128 | .239 | .119 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.837 | .328 | -.828 | -2.554 | .029 | .130 | -.628 | -.392 | | High Tech Park | .559 | .210 | .801 | 2.661 | .024 | .601 | .644 | .409 | | ICT Policy Updated | .269 | .509 | .171 | .529 | .608 | .266 | .165 | .081 | | ICT Act | .376 | .313 | .350 | 1.199 | .258 | .182 | .355 | .184 | | Tender System | -.323 | .354 | -.311 | -.911 | .384 | .000 | -.277 | -.140 |

Table 78: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .870a | .758 | .559 | .534 |

Table 79: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 9.812 | 9 | 1.090 | 3.819 | .020a | | Residual | 3.140 | 11 | .285 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 80: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .758 | 1.399 | | .542 | .599 | | | | | SoftExpo | .281 | .195 | .290 | 1.440 | .178 | .356 | .398 | .214 | | Catalogue | -.587 | .232 | -.606 | -2.528 | .028 | .142 | -.606 | -.375 | | International Trade Fairs | .435 | .241 | .449 | 1.804 | .099 | .442 | .478 | .268 | | ICT Internship Program | .521 | .259 | .473 | 2.008 | .070 | .142 | .518 | .298 | | OOP Training | .192 | .287 | .160 | .672 | .516 | -.128 | .198 | .100 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.908 | .289 | -.898 | -3.143 | .009 | .130 | -.688 | -.467 | | High Tech Park | .614 | .178 | .879 | 3.454 | .005 | .601 | .721 | .513 | | ICT Act | .502 | .197 | .468 | 2.549 | .027 | .182 | .609 | .378 | | Tender System | -.180 | .223 | -.174 | -.809 | .436 | .000 | -.237 | -.120 |

Table 81 :Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .865a | .748 | .579 | .522 |

Table 82: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 9.683 | 8 | 1.210 | 4.443 | .010a | | Residual | 3.269 | 12 | .272 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 83: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 1.134 | 1.252 | | .905 | .383 | | | | | SoftExpo | .302 | .188 | .312 | 1.606 | .134 | .356 | .421 | .233 | | Catalogue | -.544 | .218 | -.562 | -2.496 | .028 | .142 | -.585 | -.362 | | International Trade Fairs | .419 | .234 | .432 | 1.786 | .099 | .442 | .458 | .259 | | ICT Internship Program | .588 | .234 | .533 | 2.514 | .027 | .142 | .587 | .365 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.837 | .262 | -.827 | -3.189 | .008 | .130 | -.677 | -.462 | | High Tech Park | .557 | .153 | .798 | 3.641 | .003 | .601 | .725 | .528 | | ICT Act | .463 | .184 | .432 | 2.519 | .027 | .182 | .588 | .365 | | Tender System | -.172 | .217 | -.165 | -.791 | .444 | .000 | -.223 | -.115 |

Table 84: Model Summary of Regression on Y1 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .857a | .734 | .591 | .514 |

Table 85: ANOVAb of Regression on Y1 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 9.513 | 7 | 1.359 | 5.137 | .005a | | Residual | 3.439 | 13 | .265 | | | | Total | 12.952 | 20 | | | |

Table 86: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y1 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | .823 | 1.172 | | .702 | .495 | | | | | SoftExpo | .259 | .177 | .267 | 1.460 | .168 | .356 | .375 | .209 | | Catalogue | -.522 | .213 | -.539 | -2.449 | .029 | .142 | -.562 | -.350 | | International Trade Fairs | .330 | .203 | .340 | 1.627 | .128 | .442 | .411 | .233 | | ICT Internship Program | .628 | .225 | .570 | 2.793 | .015 | .142 | .612 | .399 | | Foreign Exchange Transaction | -.915 | .239 | -.905 | -3.829 | .002 | .130 | -.728 | -.547 | | High Tech Park | .607 | .138 | .869 | 4.405 | .001 | .601 | .774 | .630 | | ICT Act | .478 | .180 | .445 | 2.649 | .020 | .182 | .592 | .379 |

Table 87: Model Summary of Regression on Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .624a | .390 | .061 | .468 |

Table 88: ANOVAb of Regression on Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.820 | 7 | .260 | 1.187 | .374a | | Residual | 2.847 | 13 | .219 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

Table 89: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 4.998 | 1.417 | | 3.527 | .004 | | | | | Increase Member Base | .059 | .089 | .164 | .662 | .519 | .000 | .181 | .143 | | Professional Instititue | .181 | .221 | .225 | .818 | .428 | .401 | .221 | .177 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.366 | .202 | -.408 | -1.809 | .094 | -.320 | -.448 | -.392 | | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | -.178 | .208 | -.250 | -.857 | .407 | .000 | -.231 | -.186 | | Reduce Interest Rate | .114 | .196 | .192 | .583 | .570 | .297 | .160 | .126 | | Create Market Promotion Fund | .205 | .185 | .358 | 1.106 | .289 | .367 | .293 | .240 | | Fund For R&D | -.046 | .176 | -.096 | -.262 | .798 | .204 | -.072 | -.057 |

Table 90: Model Summary of Regression on Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .622a | .387 | .124 | .452 |

Table 91: ANOVAb of Regression on Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.805 | 6 | .301 | 1.472 | .258a | | Residual | 2.862 | 14 | .204 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

Table 92: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 5.042 | 1.360 | | 3.708 | .002 | | | | | Increase Member Base | .061 | .085 | .169 | .712 | .488 | .000 | .187 | .149 | | Professional Instititue | .190 | .211 | .236 | .898 | .385 | .401 | .233 | .188 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.366 | .195 | -.409 | -1.875 | .082 | -.320 | -.448 | -.392 | | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | -.194 | .193 | -.271 | -1.006 | .331 | .000 | -.260 | -.211 | | Reduce Interest Rate | .093 | .172 | .156 | .539 | .598 | .297 | .143 | .113 | | Create Market Promotion Fund | .179 | .151 | .313 | 1.184 | .256 | .367 | .302 | .248 |

Table 93: Model Summary of Regression on Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .612a | .374 | .165 | .441 |

Table 94: ANOVAb of Regression on Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.745 | 5 | .349 | 1.792 | .175a | | Residual | 2.921 | 15 | .195 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

Table 95: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 4.902 | 1.303 | | 3.763 | .002 | | | | | Increase Member Base | .062 | .083 | .172 | .742 | .470 | .000 | .188 | .152 | | Professional Instititue | .243 | .182 | .303 | 1.335 | .202 | .401 | .326 | .273 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.349 | .188 | -.389 | -1.855 | .083 | -.320 | -.432 | -.379 | | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | -.163 | .179 | -.228 | -.907 | .379 | .000 | -.228 | -.185 | | Create Market Promotion Fund | .199 | .143 | .348 | 1.395 | .183 | .367 | .339 | .285 |

Table 96: Model Summary of Regression on Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .592a | .351 | .189 | .435 |

Table 97: ANOVAb of Regression on Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.638 | 4 | .410 | 2.164 | .120a | | Residual | 3.028 | 16 | .189 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

Table 98: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 4.808 | 1.278 | | 3.761 | .002 | | | | | Professional Instititue | .238 | .179 | .296 | 1.327 | .203 | .401 | .315 | .267 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.319 | .181 | -.356 | -1.760 | .097 | -.320 | -.403 | -.355 | | Tax Holiday For 10 Years | -.104 | .159 | -.146 | -.657 | .521 | .000 | -.162 | -.132 | | Create Market Promotion Fund | .184 | .139 | .322 | 1.322 | .205 | .367 | .314 | .266 |

Table 99: Model Summary of Regression on Y2 | Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | 1 | .578a | .334 | .216 | .428 |

Table 100: ANOVAb of Regression on Y2 | Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | 1 | Regression | 1.557 | 3 | .519 | 2.836 | .069a | | Residual | 3.110 | 17 | .183 | | | | Total | 4.667 | 20 | | | |

Table 101: Coefficientsa of Regression on Y2 | Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | Correlations | | B | Std. Error | Beta | | | Zero-order | Partial | Part | 1 | (Constant) | 4.396 | 1.095 | | 4.013 | .001 | | | | | Professional Instititue | .256 | .174 | .319 | 1.468 | .160 | .401 | .335 | .291 | | Improve Internet Connectivity | -.314 | .178 | -.351 | -1.768 | .095 | -.320 | -.394 | -.350 | | Create Market Promotion Fund | .145 | .124 | .254 | 1.172 | .257 | .367 | .273 | .232 |

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[ 2 ]. Offshore Development Centers
[ 3 ]. Equity Entrepreneurship Fund
[ 4 ]. It is the Indian association for their IT industry.
[ 5 ]. Ready Made Garments
[ 6 ]. Bangladesh Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association
[ 7 ]. Export Promotion Bureau