State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Sunday called on Bangladesh Bank to play a dual role of a regulator and also a facilitator to help develop the country’s e-commerce sector, as well as new innovations.
He made the remarks while addressing a virtual conference titled “Rural to Global E-Commerce Policy Conference 2021” organized by the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) on Saturday.
“We have to solve the issues of the international payment system. For this, Bangladesh Bank also has to play the role of a facilitator. If they do not facilitate, there will be no new innovation,” he also said.
In order to make the country’s e-commerce sustainable, he further said that the concerned officials must also look at the challenges.
Palak also expressed his scepticism whether a business model similar to that of Amazon or Alibaba would be effective here.
“We also need to innovate new logistics services. The postal department is being digitized. Anyone who initiates a public-private partnership would be encouraged,” he added.
“Currently not only communication, but communication via technology has become essential. We are currently leaning towards e-commerce for everything, from food to luxury goods. At first, it was small but now we are dependent on this service,” said Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Tajul Islam.
Hafizur Rahman, director general, WTO Cell at the commerce ministry, presented the keynote address at the virtual conference.
He said that the cost of the internet in Bangladesh is the lowest in Asia. Bangladesh ranks 47th in the world in e-commerce. Last year, e-commerce transactions in the country were 1. 6 billion. For this year expectation was 2 billion however in reality, it will be more. About 1.3 percent of people in the country shop in e-commerce.
e-CAB President Shomi Kaiser presided over the conference, while Commerce Secretary Zafar Uddin, Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) Chief Executive Obaidul Azam, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Farah Mohammad Nasser, BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir, and A2I Policy Adviser Anir Chowdhury were also present at the event.
