Huawei announced the winners of its 'Women in Tech' competition at a gala ceremony held on Tuesday at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka. The competition was launched last year in Bangladesh with UNESCO as a strategic partner.

Team 'Dhara' emerged as the champion, with a project focused on using solar energy and other technologies to ensure a safe water supply for households. The first runner-up, 'Terra Bin,' proposed turning waste into resources using solar composters and other technologies. 'Solnet' was the second runner-up, presenting an efficient way to build and operate solar plants using cloud technology and apps. The champion, first, and second runners-up received BDT 3 lakh, BDT 2 lakh, and BDT 1 lakh, respectively.

Additionally, four participants were recognised for their individual excellence: Kaisari Ferdous from Dhaka University, Mahmuda Nayem from the Islamic University of Technology, Sumaiya Tarique Labiba, a design verification engineer at sBIT Limited, and Safrina Kabir, also from the Islamic University of Technology.

From a pool of 750 participants, 18 were selected for the final round, which featured both individual and team-based competitions. The team-based entries were judged on their innovative use of ICT solutions and business potential. The selection process involved evaluating the problem statements, innovation, business cases, and assignment scores. Individual winners were chosen based on multiple interviews, exams, and project evaluations.

State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology said, "I am truly impressed by the motto of 'Women in Tech' - Tech for Her, Tech by Her, Tech with Her. The performance and capability demonstrated by the women in this programme are remarkable. I urge Huawei to continue contributing to building a Smart Bangladesh through such initiatives."

Engineer Md Mohiuddin Ahmed, Chairman of BTRC, highlighted the government's focus on digital advancement and women's empowerment. "We want to ensure the participation of women in the ICT sector by 25% by 2026 and 50% by 2041".