f-Commerce brings success for young entrepreneurs

Trading through f-Commerce in Bangladesh is increasing substantially and at least four lakh new entrepreneurs at present are associated with the social media for running business.

Many small entrepreneurs associated with start-up business are also making growth. The Bangladesh Bank is going to arrange loans at four percent interest to help this emerging sector.

State Minister for Information and Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak said this while speaking as the chief guest at the first session of the Rural to Global E-Commerce Policy Conference 2021. This policy conference was held in a virtual arrangement on Sunday by the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-Cab). 

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Tajul Islam MP inaugurated the first session of the policy conference. Hafizur Rahman, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Commerce presented the key note.

Speaking as the special guest, Dr. Zafar Uddin, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said that the Ministry of Commerce is working to implement the Digital Commerce Policy for which a Digital Commerce Cell has also been formed. 

Digital Commerce Management Guideline 2021 is being finalized, he said adding: "We are considering the inclusion of social media commerce entrepreneurs in the Ministry of Commerce. He highlighted various initiatives of the ministry since the beginning of Corona last year.

Obaidul Azam, Chief Executive Officer, BFTI, said that bringing social media-based entrepreneurs into the registration process as an alternative to trade licenses would actually boost consumer confidence and pave the way for cooperation with this huge entrepreneurial group. He opined that e-commerce as well as e-commerce is playing a big role in eliminating unemployment.

Farah Md. Naser, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, said that if the facility of Bangladesh Bank is implemented, it will create a safety barrier for the buyers in case of online payment. And the complexities of cross-border e-commerce payments will also be resolved through a smooth process, he said.

Sayed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, MasterCard, said the growth in online transactions over the past year needs to be sustained. This situation will be further improved if certain benefits are ensured for financial transactions for card users.

BASIS President Syed Almash Kabir said the way e-commerce is growing should be brought through a fair rule now. And if there is a "bad apple" here, it should be removed and the action plan should be sorted with the importance of gaining the confidence of the consumers.

E-Cab President Shami Kaiser presided over the discussion along with other guests including A2I Policy Advisor Anir Chowdhury, Build CEO Ferdous Ara Begum, Dhaka University Associate Professor BM Mainul Hasan and Dhamaka Shop MD Jasimuddin Chishti among others. The second session of the policy conference will be held on April 11 at 3 pm. Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mr. Mustafa Jabbar is the chief guest in the afternoon session.