Bangladesh is now the second largest supplier of online labour in the world with 16 per cent share of global online workforce, according to a study, conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh.
The study -- "Digital Platform Economy in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges" -- said online payment in Bangladesh increased from Tk 1.68 billion in 2016 to Tk 19.78 billion in 2019.
The volume of online payment is projected to reach Tk 40 billion due to surge in online transactions during the Covid-19 pandemic, said the study, whose result was released on Monday through a virtual webinar.
The study found that there are 2,000 website-based entrepreneurs, and up to 50,000 facebook-centric entrepreneurs in the country.
It said the Covid-19 pandemic has expanded the opportunity of many new employments in digital or e-commerce platforms.
"Around 5,00,000 new jobs are likely to be created through digital platforms in the next one year."
However, the study opined that slow internet speed, limited technical skills, poor English language skill, low level of proliferation of credit and debit cards, and difficulties in obtaining payments from abroad are some of the challenges for flourishing the digital platform economy.
In its recommendations, the study said a regulatory framework is required for mobile applications, as a lot of such applications are being made now.
The government must act urgently and prioritise the digital platform economy in its policy agenda, so that Bangladesh does not fall behind other countries during the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), it added.
The keynote presentation in the dialogue was made by Syed Yusuf Saadat, Senior Research Associate of CPD.
Dr Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of CPD, and Felix Kolbitz, Resident Representative of FES Bangladesh office, delivered the welcome remarks.
Dr Fahmida said, "In order to be benefited from the technological advantages of the 4IR, we need to prepare ourselves through better infrastructure, fiscal policies, and skilled human resources."
"Digital platforms, especially e-commerce, are playing an important role in entrepreneurship, consumer expansion, and employment generation," she noted.
Mr Kolbitz said the digital platform economy is a potential sector, and (ensuring) impact of digitalisation of the economy in Bangladesh is a policy decision.
He expressed hope that through this discussion and more such discourses ahead, influential stakeholders would engage themselves and influence all to create an enabling environment for these new areas to grow.
Professor Dr Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow of CPD, chaired the session.
He highlighted the importance of digital platforms in advancing the country's economy, particularly in the context of LDC graduation.
Former Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr M Asaduzzaman said the country has lack of trained workforce in the digital platform economy.
He also said trained workforce and capability to adapt continuously are required, as the technologies are changing rapidly in this business. Besides, perspective should move from market constraints to market expansion.
BASIS vice president Farhana A Rahman said there is a need for creating a database to bring facebook commerce under a minimum regulatory system by authenticating outlets of f-commerce.
"We have seen a lot of f-commerce businesses are misappropriating money of buyers, creating a bad impact on them."
She also urged the government to bring necessary amendments to regulations and policies to ease freelancing remittance process, as adequate policy support is required in terms of remittance earning in this sector, especially in freelancing.
She emphasised the importance of using domestic platforms in order to expand the local market.
Hossain M Elius, CEO of Pathao Limited, mentioned that primary challenge in this sector is technological limitation. He talked about issues regarding lack of high quality technical manpower, and lack of implementation of regulations and policies, among others.
Ilmul Haque Sajib, Co-founder and COO of Sheba XYZ, said business process in the e-commerce sector needs to be made easier and more user-friendly.
He also highlighted factors like benefits of synchronisation among various authorities concerned and importance of showcasing.
Fahim Uddin Shuvo, Founder and CEO of Garbageman, Fahad Ifaz, Co-founder and CEO of iFarmer, and Mohammad Abdul Matin Emon, CEO of Pulse Healthcare Services and Founder of Doctorola Limited, also joined the dialogue as panellists.
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