Digital dreams

Few big businesses today can afford to do without an e-tail site of their own. But 26 years ago, the pioneers of the World Wide Web (WWW) were not looking for a way to make money. The internet is now a global phenomenon. It has become a second nature for people to check out products, their prices, and their availability online before buying them.
A few years after the launch of the WWW, the streets around Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, were bustling with venture capitalists and dot.com entrepreneurs. An astonishing group of entrepreneurs emerged who could persuade investors in the USA that the golden era of the internet was about to come.
According to a BBC report, the first internet company to attract widespread stock market attention was Netscape, led by Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen, who had originally developed the Mosaic browser. When its shares were offered for sale to the public on 9 August 1995, they tripled in value on the first day of trading.
With AOL showing the way to the new internet businesses, web portals like Yahoo, Lycos, and AltaVista, were the next big thing.
Among the companies that wisely decided to opt for the internet, Cisco Systems briefly overtook Microsoft to secure its position as the world’s largest company by market capitalisation, and hit $400 billion worth of capital in 2000.
During the peak, $1 billion a week was flowing into Silicon Valley, and its venture capital firms were desperately searching for dot-com investments with viable business plans.
In 2000, AOL, the biggest internet service provider in the US, took over Time Warner, the biggest media company of the US, for more than $200 billion. Nasdaq, the main US tech stock index, skyrocketed five-fold between 1995 and 2000.
In early-2000, big companies started taking advantage of the internet as a cost-effective tool. The growth of outsourcing led manufacturing companies to move much of their production to cheaper, overseas locations, which could not have happened without the internet. Indeed, almost every Silicon Valley firm—from Apple to Cisco—outsourced their production to locations abroad, mainly in Asia.
And many back-office service functions, from data processing to personnel, were also moving offshore, particularly to India, where new offshore business service centres were emerging in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

LATE ENTRANT

Bangladesh was a late entrant in the world of internet, starting in the late 1990s. It started with the emergence of some e-commerce sites, meant for sending gifts, focused on non-resident Bangladeshis. But, all the sites were based abroad and had branches in the country.
In the first decade of this millennium, e-commerce grew at a snail’s pace. According to e-cab.net, there were a few e-commerce websites but no online transaction system, which is the first condition for e-commerce. Also, coupled with the high cost of internet and low penetration, few people were active on these sites.
Bangladesh Bank data shows that payments and transactions worth nearly Tk 11 billion were done with credit cards in June 2008—one of the lowest in the world. The country had only around 400,000 credit card owners at the end of June 2009.
The big breakthrough came in 2009 when Bangladesh Bank allowed online payment in the country, which officially opened up the e-commerce sector. Another highlight of 2009 was the introduction of the WiMax internet in Bangladesh. It became quite popular in the country, according to the e-cab website.
According to the experts, 2013 was a key year in the history of e-commerce in Bangladesh. First, the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and the Bangladesh Bank jointly observed ‘E-Commerce Week’ for the first time in the country.
This was supported by the ICT Business Promotion Council. From January 5 to 11, 2013, there were four round-table discussions, two seminars, one technical session, a special awareness programme at Dhaka University, and a special promotional campaign at Bashundhara Shopping Mall.
In February 2013, Computer Jagat, the leading ICT magazine of Bangladesh, organised the first e-commerce fair under the supervision of the Dhaka DC office. The three-day fair took place from February 7 to 9 on the premises of Begum Sufia Kamal National Public Library.
The catchphrase of the fair was, ‘Festival for buying and selling on your premises’. In all, 31 public and private e-commerce organizations showcased their products and services at the fair.  The fair was a huge success, attracting 80,000 visitors. Computer Jagat also webcast the fair live. More than 50,000 people in Bangladesh and abroad watched it. Following the fair in Dhaka, Computer Jagat held e-commerce fairs in Sylhet, Chittagong, Barisal, and London.
This year, Bangladesh Bank has issued permission to buy products and services online using international credit cards. Buying products and services from abroad using a credit card is an important aspect of e-commerce.

VAST OPPORTUNITES
“E-commerce has vast opportunities. But, the policies are too weak for the sector to flourish. I am hopeful that the government will fix the policy for e-commerce,” Razib Ahmed, the president of e-CAB, told The Independent.
“We are hoping that it will be a $1-billion industry soon. But to reach there, we need government funds with support from private entrepreneurs. We are optimistic that the government will consider it in the upcoming budget,” Ahmed added.
Talking about Vision 2021, the goal of a digital Bangladesh, the e-Cab president said, “We have not been able to make satisfactory progress towards this target. But there is some hope, as you can see many multinational companies coming to Bangladesh with e-commerce offers.”
Eminent ICT expert and BASIS president Mustafa Jabbar said digitalization is huge. But it needs education, a favourable government mindset, and support to local and foreign companies. “We will need more effort to reach the digital-Bangladesh goal. The current pace is not enough,” Jabbar said.
“The draft of the e-commerce policy is now in the ICT Division. Once it is final, you will see the sector gain pace,” Jabbar hoped.
State minister for post and telecommunication, Tarana Halim, told The Independent, “We are moving forward with the plan of building a digital Bangladesh. We have taken many steps to meet this goal. These include high-speed internet facilities, ensuing internet and e-commerce safety, offering utility services, and e-tendering. We are hopeful that digital Bangladesh will become a reality within the stipulated time.”
“We will launch the Bangabandhu satellite on December 16. Once it is launched, the digitalization process will become easier,” the state minister said.

 

Digital dreams

Few big businesses today can afford to do without an e-tail site of their own. But 26 years ago, the pioneers of the World Wide Web (WWW) were not looking for a way to make money. The internet is now a global phenomenon. It has become a second nature for people to check out products, their prices, and their availability online before buying them. A few years after the launch of the WWW, the streets around Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, were bustling with venture capitalists and dot.com entrepreneurs. An astonishing group of entrepreneurs emerged who could persuade investors in the USA that the golden era of the internet was about to come. According to a BBC report, the first internet company to attract widespread stock market attention was Netscape, led by Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen, who had originally developed the Mosaic browser. When its shares were offered for sale to the public on 9 August 1995, they tripled in value on the first day of trading. With AOL showing the way to the new internet businesses, web portals like Yahoo, Lycos, and AltaVista, were the next big thing. Among the companies that wisely decided to opt for the internet, Cisco Systems briefly overtook Microsoft to secure its position as the worlds largest company by market capitalisation, and hit $400 billion worth of capital in 2000. During the peak, $1 billion a week was flowing into Silicon Valley, and its venture capital firms were desperately searching for dot-com investments with viable business plans. In 2000, AOL, the biggest internet service provider in the US, took over Time Warner, the biggest media company of the US, for more than $200 billion. Nasdaq, the main US tech stock index, skyrocketed five-fold between 1995 and 2000. In early-2000, big companies started taking advantage of the internet as a cost-effective tool. The growth of outsourcing led manufacturing companies to move much of their production to cheaper, overseas locations, which could not have happened without the internet. Indeed, almost every Silicon Valley firmfrom Apple to Ciscooutsourced their production to locations abroad, mainly in Asia. And many back-office service functions, from data processing to personnel, were also moving offshore, particularly to India, where new offshore business service centres were emerging in Bangalore and Hyderabad. LATE ENTRANT Bangladesh was a late entrant in the world of internet, starting in the late 1990s. It started with the emergence of some e-commerce sites, meant for sending gifts, focused on non-resident Bangladeshis. But, all the sites were based abroad and had branches in the country. In the first decade of this millennium, e-commerce grew at a snails pace. According to e-cab.net, there were a few e-commerce websites but no online transaction system, which is the first condition for e-commerce. Also, coupled with the high cost of internet and low penetration, few people were active on these sites. Bangladesh Bank data shows that payments and transactions worth nearly Tk 11 billion were done with credit cards in June 2008one of the lowest in the world. The country had only around 400,000 credit card owners at the end of June 2009. The big breakthrough came in 2009 when Bangladesh Bank allowed online payment in the country, which officially opened up the e-commerce sector. Another highlight of 2009 was the introduction of the WiMax internet in Bangladesh. It became quite popular in the country, according to the e-cab website. According to the experts, 2013 was a key year in the history of e-commerce in Bangladesh. First, the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and the Bangladesh Bank jointly observed E-Commerce Week for the first time in the country. This was supported by the ICT Business Promotion Council. From January 5 to 11, 2013, there were four round-table discussions, two seminars, one technical session, a special awareness programme at Dhaka University, and a special promotional campaign at Bashundhara Shopping Mall. In February 2013, Computer Jagat, the leading ICT magazine of Bangladesh, organised the first e-commerce fair under the supervision of the Dhaka DC office. The three-day fair took place from February 7 to 9 on the premises of Begum Sufia Kamal National Public Library. The catchphrase of the fair was, Festival for buying and selling on your premises. In all, 31 public and private e-commerce organizations showcased their products and services at the fair. The fair was a huge success, attracting 80,000 visitors. Computer Jagat also webcast the fair live. More than 50,000 people in Bangladesh and abroad watched it. Following the fair in Dhaka, Computer Jagat held e-commerce fairs in Sylhet, Chittagong, Barisal, and London. This year, Bangladesh Bank has issued permission to buy products and services online using international credit cards. Buying products and services from abroad using a credit card is an important aspect of e-commerce. VAST OPPORTUNITES E-commerce has vast opportunities. But, the policies are too weak for the sector to flourish. I am hopeful that the government will fix the policy for e-commerce, Razib Ahmed, the president of e-CAB, told The Independent. We are hoping that it will be a $1-billion industry soon. But to reach there, we need government funds with support from private entrepreneurs. We are optimistic that the government will consider it in the upcoming budget, Ahmed added. Talking about Vision 2021, the goal of a digital Bangladesh, the e-Cab president said, We have not been able to make satisfactory progress towards this target. But there is some hope, as you can see many multinational companies coming to Bangladesh with e-commerce offers. Eminent ICT expert and BASIS president Mustafa Jabbar said digitalization is huge. But it needs education, a favourable government mindset, and support to local and foreign companies. We will need more effort to reach the digital-Bangladesh goal. The current pace is not enough, Jabbar said. The draft of the e-commerce policy is now in the ICT Division. Once it is final, you will see the sector gain pace, Jabbar hoped. State minister for post and telecommunication, Tarana Halim, told The Independent, We are moving forward with the plan of building a digital Bangladesh. We have taken many steps to meet this goal. These include high-speed internet facilities, ensuing internet and e-commerce safety, offering utility services, and e-tendering. We are hopeful that digital Bangladesh will become a reality within the stipulated time. We will launch the Bangabandhu satellite on December 16. Once it is launched, the digitalization process will become easier, the state minister said.