Bangladesh: Online opportunity?  
By Yasmin Ahmed

India has umpteen commerce sites that we take for granted. I shop for books at one and look for bargains on clothes at another website.  And when come birthdays, even if you forget the occasion, you just need to go online and order a bouquet of flowers, no stammered apologies or hiding behind the newspaper anymore. Then there is eBay, where one can sell or buy ‘anything’ including your ex-boyfriend’s shoddy clothes.

I took this easy shopping in ‘Mera Bharat Mahan’ for granted till I saw this article in the Daily Star that is published from neighbouring Bangladesh.

The article says, ordering on line to deliver a gift in Bangladesh is quite possible, and that too from other parts of the world. You even get the delivery in a fresh condition, since the shipment happens from within the country. The hitch is you cannot order the stuff from within Bangladesh. Not that there are restrictions on shopping as such, but the use of international credit cards is banned online in Bangladesh. The really dedicated online shoppers have been known even to use the help of relatives abroad by passing on credit card numbers, but as you know that is more of a trouble than a help.

So the online shopping market in Bangladesh remains largely untapped. The absence of payment methods like Paypal is another hurdle in developing this e-commerce aspect. But entrepreneurs have found a way out here too. There are some sites like Clickbd.com, CellBazaar.com etc. which makes it possible to sell property and services online, and the payment mode is mutually decidable. Another feature offered is auction of goods, but that too needs a registration, which may not suit all.

I was curious and launched a search to see how many countries don’t allow the use of international credit cards online.   Could not find any.

Am sure there are opportunities here for Indian startups which have good contacts in Bangladesh.  While Bangladesh has a small internet base, it can only go up.