E-Commerce summit ends with call for bigger supports

Instead of the leapfrogging potential to grow ten times in three years, the e-commerce market roughly doubled here in Bangladesh thanks to the internet, logistics and digital payment penetration.

To capture the full potential to grow and play a big role in the economy, the sector needs to offer both convenience and direct benefits like competitive price, and without more supportive policies and bigger investments it will not be possible, speakers said at the Bangladesh E-Commerce Summit 2023.

Themed "Reinventing E-Commerce for the Modern Era," the daylong summit at a city hotel on Sunday aimed to unleash the hidden potential of the e-commerce industry in Bangladesh.

E-commerce Association of Bangladesh President Shomi Kaiser inaugurated the event attended by local and international e-commerce entrepreneurs, experts and government officials.

The keynote session, panel discussions, insight sessions covered various insightful topics that encapsulated the idea of e-commerce and its growing influence in Bangladesh and the needs for support.

One of the panel discussants, Adnan Imtiaz Halim, co-founder and CEO of Sheba Platform, while talking to TBS on the sidelines said the next push in the online commerce would need deeper market penetration that could enable one crore businesses in the country sell online alongside that to their walkaway customers.

Government was facilitating the sector, but considering the potential contribution to the economy in coming days the support should be much bigger, he said adding, an ecosystem for enabling big investments in digital commerce was also crucial for the industry.