Electronic Commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECAB) vice-president Ambareen Reza said a “Startup Academy” would be operational at the ECAB secretariat in Dhaka soon.
“Such academies are aimed at providing entrepreneurs with the support they need, including access to investors who can provide funding and help scale their startups,” she said.
Initial work towards establishing the Startup Academy has been completed since Ambareen Reza was elected as the ECAB board member with the most votes two years ago.
“A VAT and tax support desk will be set up at the secretariat. Work is also on to set up a business finance desk,” said Ambareen Reza, co-founder of Foodpanda, a Bangladeshi online food delivery platform.
“Our aim is to support ECAB member states as they seek solutions to key tax and financing issues,” she added.
Ambalene noted that he has worked hard to protect the interests of e-commerce operators in the Digital Commerce Bill and has also promoted their agenda in various policy forums.
Based on her experience working at ECAB, she said, “SMEs in the country have the potential to greatly benefit from cross-border e-commerce.”
“There is still room to work for the growth of the e-commerce sector and help entrepreneurs survive and thrive in this promising sector,” she noted as ECAB holds elections for its new executive committee for 2024-2026 on July 27.
Ambareine Reza started working at foodpanda in 2013 and during that time has helped digitally transform 50,000 SMEs and provided employment opportunities to thousands of youth. In recognition of this contribution, her company was awarded the Digital Bangladesh Award 2022.
