New Businesses Boomed in BD due to Pandemic

After the 66-day general holiday announced by the government to prevent the transmission of coronavirus in Bangladesh, the country's economy has collapsed and all kinds of traders, big and small, have been affected.

But on the other hand, some small enterprises have done good business keeping in mind the newly created demand in the market at this time.

Vegetables and fruits, snacks, protective ingredients, clothing --- what's not on that list!

About 100% of these initiatives are based online, especially on social media.

People involved in technology business say that about two thousand new companies are selling products through social media at the moment.

Along with this, the busyness of more than 200 courier services of the country has also increased by many times during this period.

New initiatives are emerging

During the lockdown, when all kinds of establishments, including restaurants, are closed, when helpers are not coming to people's homes for fear of coronavirus infection, the demand for breakfast bread, afternoon snack items increases tremendously.

The demand for these products increased in super shops and neighborhood shops, but people did not want to go to the shops for fear of infection.

It was seen that some people were advertising on their Facebook page --- homemade flour bread, rice flour bread, or various items for breakfast in the afternoon.

One such entrepreneur is Rohana Akhter Ratna.

She is studying at Government Titumir College, Dhaka.

During the lockdown, when the graphic designer's husband and father's income almost stopped, Ratna felt the urge to do something.

At the end of May, she joined a page of small women entrepreneurs on Facebook and saw a great demand for food, especially breakfast items.

He asked his mother if she could make bread.

When the mother agreed, she gave a short post to the women entrepreneurs on that page: “Home-made bread, parota, and afternoon snacks are ordered. I want to make my mother self-reliant through this initiative. ”

On June 1, he received the first order of 20 loaves of bread and 20 loaves of rice flour.

she did not need to turn around after that,

“In the beginning, only my mother and I used to make it. In order to give fresh to the customer, the day before the delivery date, the thing has to be made and frozen, so we were under a lot of pressure.

But the way orders have increased every day in the last month and a half, now other family members also need help. ”

Ratna said that they have named their initiative on Facebook as 'Mother Henschel'.

Demand for safety equipment

In the last few months, the most sought after product in Bangladesh has been protection products.

Now products like masks, gloves and sanitizers have become a daily necessity for many.

Many who used to be in other professions are now making different types of masks and selling them online.

Taslima Mizi has been making and exporting leather bags for several years. But his factory production got stuck during the lockdown.

After some thought and research, he started making cloth masks.

“On the one hand, the workers were sitting in my factory, there was no work, and on the other hand, I wanted to work with something that was in demand in the market. Then I started making cloth masks.”

"And the mask of non-oven material is not environmentally friendly and not suitable for the climate of Bangladesh. That's why I chose a cloth mask. ”

He has been getting a good response from the buyers since the beginning of construction.

As a result, even though the production of its leather goods was stopped, the workers did not have to sit still, they were able to earn a living.

Taslima Mizi is now not only making masks herself, but she is also training a few non-governmental organizations working with disadvantaged women who are making cloth masks and selling them online.

The courier service is very busy

As the online business grows at this time, the courier service system has multiplied to deliver that product to the buyer.

Courier service providers say that initially the supply of goods purchased online had to be done mainly in Dhaka and divisional cities.

But now there is a demand for products bought online in almost all district towns.

As a result, almost all courier service providers have recruited staff in the district towns.

Sheikh Tanvir Ahmed, managing director of the Sundarbans Courier Service, told the BBC: "People are now ordering everything online that they could buy at shopping malls.

In the last three months, our order rate has not doubled but has multiplied. And it has spread beyond urban areas to almost every district town. ”

The work of Sundarbans courier service has increased manifold

Orders for various electronic products including mobiles, medicines, various fruits including mangoes, women's and children's clothes, fancy items are being delivered through courier service.

New possibilities?

Luna Samsuddoha, former chairman of the state-owned Janata Bank and leader of BASIS, an association of technology entrepreneurs, believes that while survival is a major challenge for small entrepreneurs during an epidemic, the technology-dependent business sector is creating new possibilities.

"It's not just the people who are making or importing the products that are benefiting. With this, new staff is being created in a few steps to get the product to the hands of the buyer. The one who delivers, the one who takes the transport --- these places are also getting employment. ”

However, he said that in this case, these new technology-dependent initiatives need to be committed to ensuring product quality and timely order delivery.

In addition, when these small entrepreneurs are successful and take the initiative to expand their business, their capital crisis is seen to be bigger.

Luna Samsuddoha called on the banks to provide the necessary assistance.