Facebook gives SMBs better chance to succeed

Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) of Bangladesh are becoming financially more viable through using Facebook features, said Ghulam Sumdany Don on a facebook live titled "Going digital to grow your business" on Monday evening.

Social media giants shared their strategy focusing on business centric communication apart from social networking at the virtual conference via Don Samdany's Facebook page to assist in recovering and support the SMB business community in Bangladesh.

Jordi Fornies, Managing Director Emerging Markets APAC of Facebook, said, "This is part of Facebook's initiatives to showcase and empower local entrepreneurs in Bangladesh that are using digital platforms to turn their business ideas into reality."

He also said, "Normally it's difficult to say what would be our future, but now people are becoming more integrated with Facebook and when the people are there by getting financially benefited, then it's sure to be developed more in future."

Mentioning that 46% of operational SMB owners on Facebook feel optimistic about the future of their businesses, he said, "This is why we are learning digital to get proper insights. This is not something like that you start randomly; you have to be more creative and strategic now." 

President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Syed Almas Kabir, said, "During the pandemic we have been carrying out our business online and even we consulted with doctors via telemedicine. The lockdown showed how Bangladesh is ready to be digital more day by day."

"And it is time to take initiatives to integrate the digital payment services in Facebook; because in 2019, there was approximately Tk200 core worth business in digital platform and now the estimation has increased by Tk300 core in 2020" he added.

He also said, "The merchants who are selling grocery product online are getting 200% growth and I think Facebook helps them, especially for the female entrepreneur being financially emancipated."

Co-founder and CEO of Cookups, Namira Hossain, said, "I wanted to do something that would help the women; then in 2016 I first started with homemade food service through a facebook group."  

Founder and Owner of Style Echo, Sayma Rahman, said, "In 2012 it was a small facebook group when I was a student; and now the business is running well. I always wanted to do something rather than getting a job and facebook has helped me to do it, especially the live option."

She also said, "Without having facebook boost my first the facebook live went viral and the business started to get stable day by day. It's sure that, the business couldn't be possible for me without the platform."

Moreover, in December 8, Facebook started testing a feature called "Support Local Businesses" and added a "#SupportSmallBusiness" sticker to their stories on Instagram in Asia Pacific region.