Early Years of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh e-CAB

This article takes a look at the transformation of the industry over the last eleven years. I was the Founder and former President of the e-Commerce Association. So I think that, not only as a keen observer but also as a person who was directly involved with the e-commerce industry in Bangladesh as the president of an organization, I can provide some valuable insight. In this article I am going to talk about the historical transformation and growth, as well as the challenges this industry has faced over the last decade.

As I have already stated, e-commerce in limited form started in Bangladesh in the late 1990s. At that time the number of internet subscribers was very limited. There was no separate logistics or delivery system for e-commerce, and there was no digital payment.

In fact, during that time, buying and selling online did not have any legal validity or framework. In other words, it was more or less illegal to carry out e-commerce or online transactions. So the early entrepreneurs had to face a mammoth challenge, and nearly all of them failed to survive because there was no support from anyone.

Things began to change from the early 2010s because of the growth and popularity of Facebook. Many entrepreneurs started to enter this business. They even opened websites as well as Facebook pages. In 2013 the first-ever e-commerce fair took place in Bangladesh, organized by Computer Jagat.

Then, in June 2014, some entrepreneurs felt the need for a separate e-commerce association and elected me as the founder president of the association. On 8 November 2014, the e-CAB executive committee organized a press conference at the National Press Club, Dhaka, and on behalf of the committee, I, Razib Ahmed, announced the emergence of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh.

Then in August of the same year, e-CAB received the certificate from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC). Finally, in October 2015, it became a member of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

he first few years were quite a challenging time for e-CAB, as the association did not have any significant amount of money to operate its activities, let alone promote e-commerce to the common mass in Bangladesh. So the association adopted three strategies.

It promoted e-commerce through its Facebook group. This was a unique step, considering the fact that in 2014 there were not so many people on Facebook in Bangladesh, and no other trade association had an active Facebook group.

Secondly, e-CAB started a blog on its website. Anyone could write on this blog or submit their writing to the e-CAB president, following some basic rules. With a few exceptions, almost all the posts were in Bangla, so ordinary people could get an idea about e-commerce concepts.

Finally, run by the then President of e-CAB, some members started participating in Skype conversations every day during 2015. Anyone could join the conversation, which started at 10 pm at night and ran until 2-4 am.

In addition to these three strategies, some members, again with the e-CAB President and EC members, informally participated in offline events and discussed different things related to e-commerce business. They also came to know each other, because e-commerce business is carried out almost exclusively online, and entrepreneurs or employees in those e-commerce companies did not otherwise have the opportunity to meet face to face.

These strategies helped e-CAB grow, and the Facebook group had more than 100,000 members within just three years. The growth happened from 2014 to 2017, and by the end of 2017 the group had nearly 150,000 members. 

The early days and months were full of challenges. The association did not have any office and we had to depend on the support by Comjagat Technologies in this regard. The founder General Secretary Tomal of Comjagat Technologies played a crucial role in this regard. 

Financial constraint was a major challenge for the first few years. E-CAB did not receive any direct support from any government organization during its first year. Support from EC members as well as revenue from new members helped it to sustain. 

e-CAB newsletter was published when there was any major event. This printed newsletter was distributed free of cost and the expense was covered through advertisements.