The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) got its license as a trade organization from the Ministry of Commerce on July 8, 2015 - 10 years ago. Thus, e-commerce got the recognition of a separate industry. Ten years is not a long time for an industry but e-commerce has witnessed huge growth in just one decade. From a very humble beginning, it has emerged as a multibillion-dollar industry. Yes, there are still some major challenges but the industry will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. It is now a very big source of employment for educated people in Dhaka City.

How it all started

The first e-commerce website of Bangladesh, munshigi.com, started its journey in January 2000. Back then, there was mostly dialup Internet Connection from BTTB and the number of Internet users were below 1 lakh. For the next 10 years, things did not change much as smartphones were not popular in the country and not many people owned a desktop or laptop PC. During the first half of the 2010s the number of Internet connections grew rapidly at least in Dhaka City, Facebook started to become popular with around 10 million Facebook accounts in Bangladesh in 2015. So, the emergence of e-CAB became the game changer.

What has changed in 10 Years?

The size of the e-commerce industry has increased manifolds in the last 10 years. In 2015, the transactions in the industry amounted to nearly Tk. 1000 crore. In 2025, it is expected to surpass Tk. 100,00 Crore (according to Statista- https://www.statista.com/outlook/emo/ecommerce/bangladesh) . Of course, there is a lot of confusion about the exact market size of the e-commerce industry but there is no doubt that the people from all the Upazilas regularly buy something online. Now, rural people can order products and receive them, this was not common 10 years ago. Thousands of people are now employed in this industry and this figure can only grow.

Ten years ago, hardly any local company had an e-commerce wing but now, many of them have their own websites and Facebook pages to sell their products online.

In the e-commerce industry of Bangladesh, there is no single dominant player like India and China. No single company has 10% of the market share in the e-commerce Industry. The growth has mainly taken place because of the young generation. Most of the entrepreneurs are young but they are the driving force. They have carried the burden of the e-commerce industry and have worked very hard in the last 10 years.

Women entrepreneurship and Deshi Products

During Covid 19 or in the year 2000, thousands of women from all the 64 districts of the country became entrepreneurs and started selling Deshi Ponno (Made in Bangladesh Products) via Facebook. They opened a Facebook Page and or joined a Facebook Group about Deshi Ponno. This has resulted in the availability of traditional products from all corners of the country. You can now buy almost any product of any district and there is a good possibility that the owner of the Facebook Page is a woman.

They write content on Facebook regularly and thanks to their efforts, now we know that there are more than 100 types of sarees and 40 types of shawls produced in Bangladesh. If these women entrepreneurs get proper support from the Upazilla level then there will be a surge of sales of deshi ponno.

Bangladesh is perhaps the one of the few or if not the only country on earth where Facebook Commerce is the dominant force. There is no accurate and authentic information about the number of Facebook based entrepreneurs but even the most conservative estimate puts the figure to at least 1 lakh. The main problem with Facebook pages is that if Facebook bans or deletes a page there is nothing an entrepreneur can do.

Challenges and Potential

Investment is a major challenge for the e-commerce industry. For new entrepreneurs, there is no significant support system. Home delivery in rural areas is still not available but as for large cities, it is not a problem at all. We are yet to see e-commerce degrees offered at bachelor level in the universities. There is an acute shortage of research on the e-commerce industry of Bangladesh. So, it is almost impossible to find any reliable statistics, facts and figures about this industry.

E-commerce has enormous potential for creating jobs for the educated people, especially for educated women. Thanks to online shopping, people living in small towns and rural areas now can have almost any product without coming to Dhaka or a large city. Just imagine a day when 50 million people buy their products online on a regular basis- e-commerce will surely become the largest job sector for educated people then.

What has to be done?

Delivery of Logistics was once the biggest challenge but things have improved a lot in the last few years as there are now many Delivery companies (Courier Services) not only in Dhaka but also in other big cities. Small entrepreneurs need support for sustaining their business. Tax and VAT exemption can help them a lot. A massive campaign should be taken to encourage our common masses to buy local products. A dedicated online based marketplace should be opened for local products of all the districts of the country.

Finally, the e-commerce industry is new but has witnessed massive growth in just one decade. Proper planning and support can help it to grow a lot. We should have the vision for the day in which people from all the villages will be able to sell their products online. This may sound like a fairy tale now but it will happen within 5-10 years.

The author was the founding president of e-CAB