A discussion session titled ‘ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) – A New Future of Digital Commerce’ was held on Saturday, October 22 from 11 am to 2 pm at the BASIS Conference Center. Top officials of the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Bank, SME Foundation, BASIS and other trade organizations discussed the event along with the country’s largest established e-commerce platform.
T Koshy, Chief Executive Officer of ONDC India, the implementing body of India’s ONDC, presented ONDC’s scope of work, prospects and challenges as the keynote speaker. He added, this open network of digital business is going to bring a new revolution in e-commerce business. According to T Koshy, ONDC is not a new platform, it is a network or a system through which all the stakeholders in digital commerce communicate with each other through a common protocol. The biggest benefit from this approach or network will be small or micro online merchants. One of the main objectives of setting up the ONDC network is to ensure that large domestic and foreign online platforms do not monopolize the e-commerce sector and deprive small entrepreneurs.
BASIS President Russell T Ahmed said that the government should work together with the private sector to implement this new network in Bangladesh like India. In this regard, BASIS is ready to provide all kinds of technical assistance to all, including the Ministry of Commerce and Bangladesh Bank.
The special guest of the program, General Manager of Payment Division of Bangladesh Bank, Majbaul Haque, said that in recent times, the fraud of two e-commerce companies has created a lack of confidence in the entire sector. Bangladesh Bank is working to get rid of it.
Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Head of E-Commerce Cell, Chief Guest of the event, said that the ONDC network can act as a safeguard against large foreign platforms to drive away small traders from the market. The Ministry of Commerce will use the experience of other countries in this regard and will soon start the work of creating an open network policy suitable for digital commerce in Bangladesh. This policy will be developed with the opinion of others including BASIS.
Fahim Mashroor, former president of BASIS, served as the moderator of the discussion meeting. FBCCI Vice President Amin Helali, SMEF General Manager Md. Nazim Hasan Sattar, Pathao CEO & BASIS Director Faheem Ahmed, Mastercard Bangladesh Head & BASIS Director Syed Ahmed Mohammad Kamal, BASIS Director AKM Ahmedul Islam Babu, Chaldal Director & BASIS Digital Commerce Standing Committee Head Zia Ashraf, E-Courier Head Executive Revolution Rahul Saha, Seba Platform Head Adnan Imtiaz, a2i Head of E-Commerce Rezwanul Haque Jami, Bangladesh Bank Senior System Analyst Jayant K Bhowmik, Talikhata Head Dr. Shahadat Khan and others also spoke at the event.