Bangladesh’s first online portal for selling leather products to domestic and international consumers was launched on Monday.
Speaker of Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury inaugurated the e-commerce portal, goooseyours.com, in a ceremony at the Krishibid Institute in Dhaka.
“We have launched the site with the goal of providing high end leather products for both local and foreign consumers,” Goose Limited Managing Director Mita Bose said.
Experts believe the new portal should provide a welcome boon to the country’s growing leather industry.
According to Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), Bangladesh earned $1.23 billion in the last fiscal year from leather exports and has ambitions to realise $5 bn in exports from the sector by 2021.
In order to help meet this goal, Dr Shirin advised Goose Ltd not compromise on prices when selling products to the international market, while also urging the company to stay within the purchasing capacity of domestic consumers.
Dr Shirin said e-commerce opened new avenues for any business venture as it connects people from all parts of the country in line with the government’s vision for Digital Bangladesh.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has brought internet services to people’s doors, and even those living in remote areas now have easy access to online facilities at affordable costs,” she added.
Dr Shirin said financial constraints are the main barrier to many women becoming successful entrepreneurs, as they cannot always afford to rent commercial spaces at market places.
“E-commerce provides such entrepreneurs with a suitable platform,” she said. “However, skill and sincerity were still required to make e-commerce profitable.”
Other speakers at Monday’s launch included former caretaker government adviser Rokeya Afzal Rahman and Labaid Group Managing Director AM Shamim.