Syed Almas Kabir

About Syed Almas Kabir

Syed Almas Kabir is the Managing Director and CEO of MetroNet Bangladesh Limited, the country's largest and most established nationwide data-communication company.

He has spent more than 33 years in Bangladesh's ICT sector, moving between building his own company, teaching at the university level, and serving in senior industry leadership roles, most notably as President of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).

An Engineer With Two Continents of Education

Kabir studied Electrical Engineering at Jadavpur University in India before completing a Master's degree at New York University in the United States.

That combination of engineering training and an international postgraduate education gave him a technical grounding that shaped MetroNet's early direction toward infrastructure rather than software products alone.

Laying Bangladesh's First Commercial Fiber Network

MetroNet Bangladesh Limited was incorporated in 2001, and under Kabir's leadership, became the first company in the country to lay fiber optic network for commercial use.

At a time when Bangladesh's internet infrastructure was still built largely on older, slower connections, that early investment in fiber positioned MetroNet as foundational infrastructure for the country's later digital growth rather than just another internet service provider.

Growing MetroNet Beyond Connectivity

Over time, MetroNet's offerings expanded well past internet connectivity into cloud computing, fintech infrastructure, cybersecurity, intranet services, and IP telephony.

That expansion mirrors the broader shift in what Bangladeshi businesses have needed from their data infrastructure provider over the past two decades, moving from simple connectivity toward the systems that connectivity makes possible.

Leading BASIS and Shaping Policy

Kabir served as President of BASIS from 2018 to 2022, one of the more consequential terms in the organization's recent history.

During his presidency, he created an e-Government Cell within BASIS specifically to help government agencies prepare and evaluate technology tenders, a structural change aimed at improving how public sector IT procurement worked, rather than just advocating for industry interests from the outside.

Teaching Alongside Running a Company

Alongside his business and policy work, Kabir has held senior academic roles at Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), North South University, and City University, and served as adjunct faculty at National University and Northern University.

That ongoing presence in academia has kept him connected to a younger generation of engineers and technologists even while running a nationwide infrastructure company.

A Recognized ICT Advocate

Kabir's work in policy and industry advocacy earned him recognition from the U.S. State Department, which named him an International Visitor under its Leadership Program (IVLP).

Between running MetroNet, leading BASIS, and holding faculty positions, Kabir has built a reputation less around a single flagship product and more around shaping the infrastructure and policy environment that Bangladesh's wider tech industry operates in.