E-Commerce Facilitation Center opened at BSCIC Jamdani Shilpa Nagar
An e-Commerce Facilitation Center was inaugurated today at BISCIC Jamdani Shilpa Nagar in Narayanganj to promote the country's jamdani industry nationally and internationally. It was inaugurated by Turkish Ambassador to Dhaka Ramiz Sen on Wednesday afternoon with the support of BSCIC, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TICA).
The a2i Joint Project Director (Joint Secretary) Md. Saiful Islam, TICA Bangladesh Coordinator Shevki Marath Barish, a2i Project Manager Majedul Islam, BSCIC General Manager (Marketing) Akhil Ranjan Tarafdar, a2i Head of Commercialization Rezwanul Haque Jami and related senior officials were present at the ceremony.
While speaking as the chief guest at the event, the Turkish Ambassador Ramiz Sen said, 'Bangladesh and Turkey have a long-standing relationship. Bangladesh-Türkiye have been working together since before independence. With the establishment of this e-commerce facilitation center, the relationship with a2i will be strengthened in the days to come. We want to do more joint work in e-commerce development. I applaud this initiative for the development of entrepreneurs.
As a result of this e-Commerce Facilitation Center initiative, entrepreneurs of the local Jamdani Shilpa Palli will henceforth get the necessary advice and round-the-clock support to ensure the accessibility of their manufactured products to the domestic and international markets, informed a2i. They also can avail the services of this center for B2B business expansion. a2i and Ekshop will provide its experiential knowledge and consulting services to local entrepreneurs to increase their business scope and financial prosperity by assisting local entrepreneurs in selling their products.
Recently, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Corporation- BSIC, for setting up an e-Commerce Facilitation Center under the Cabinet Division and the Information and Communication Technology Division, provided a space allocation to Aspire to Innovate-a2i, which is being implemented and supported by UNDP. The Center is reinforced by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Turkish Government Cooperation Agency, by providing all necessary equipment. The a2i is jointly responsible for the establishment and overall supervision and management of this e-Commerce Facilitation Center along with BSCIC and TIKA.
As part of the government's ongoing program to build a smart Bangladesh by 2041, BSIC has developed a modern digital marketplace - BSIC Online Market along with its conventional market. BSIC entrepreneurs can directly register themselves on this marketplace and upload all their product information and images, which will be used to promote their products. If they want, they can take the support of the newly established e-commerce facilitation center for this work. a2i-Ekshop will connect with all the important marketplaces of the country through its own marketplace 'Ekshop' for the purpose of promotion and sale of all the BSCIC products uploaded on this BSCIC online market. Not only that, for any product order from BSCIC Entrepreneurs, Ekshop is able to provide its own delivery service to any remote area within the country. If the local BSIC entrepreneurs want to import products from the international market to expand their business, in this case too, Ekshop will provide its experienced import service and all the support to deliver the product to the entrepreneur with very low cost in a speed and efficient manner.
Ekshop, the world's first and only recognized digital public good and supportive e-commerce ecosystem, has provided support in various ways to change the quality of life of at least 180,000 small and medium entrepreneurs across the country since 2019. In turn, all the entrepreneurs of BSCIC Jamdani Palli will also be able to avail all the benefits of the Ekshop marketplace and they will benefit from the digital market infrastructure.
The two sides expressed hope that the ongoing fraternal bilateral cooperation between Turkey and Bangladesh will be further advanced and strengthened through the effective use of digital technology through the establishment of an e-commerce facilitation center.
