With lower startup costs and a broader reach, a growing number of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have recently turned to the online retail market. A large percentage of these entrepreneurs are female who operate their businesses through social media like Facebook. But a recent study—first conducted in April and then followed in May-June—by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University revealed that though online sales of health products and daily essentials were booming—thanks to COVID-19, the ongoing pandemic took a heavy toll on the online retailers of fashion, cosmetics, and other imported products. Many who were trying to reduce the loss of revenue by cancelling orders and selling off their stock in April, 24% of them have since shut down their businesses in June. In a webinar hosted today, Mehnaz Rabbani, Program Lead, Research, Policy, and Governance at BIGD, presented these alarming findings.
With lower startup costs and a broader reach, a growing number of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have recently turned to the online retail market. A large percentage of these entrepreneurs are female who operate their businesses through social media like Facebook. But a recent study—first conducted in April and then followed in May-June—by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University revealed that though online sales of health products and daily essentials were booming—thanks to COVID-19, the ongoing pandemic took a heavy toll on the online retailers of fashion, cosmetics, and other imported products. Many who were trying to reduce the loss of revenue by cancelling orders and selling off their stock in April, 24% of them have since shut down their businesses in June. In a webinar hosted today, Mehnaz Rabbani, Program Lead, Research, Policy, and Governance at BIGD, presented these alarming findings.
