As a founding member of e-CAB, how do I see the future of e-CAB?

As a founding member of e-CAB, how do I see the future of e-CAB?

The E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB) is the only government-recognized trade association for e-commerce companies, founded in 2014 and officially recognized as an organization in 2015. Being a part of this organization since its inception and witnessing its growth through both good and challenging times gives a sense of satisfaction, even amidst difficulties.

Due to the July-August tragedy or the student-public uprising, the scheduled election on July 27 could not take place. An administrator has been appointed following the resignation of those who, for the past 10 years, have monopolized the EC committees of e-CAB without ensuring transparency and accountability, and have deprived members of various rights (an issue I have raised continuously for the past six years, which led to the 2022 elections, where the results did not reflect the members' votes). A letter containing the demands of the e-commerce traders was handed over to the Hon'ble ICT Adviser, Hon'ble ICT Secretary, Hon'ble Commerce Secretary, Hon'ble Director General of the Trade Organization (DTO), and the Hon'ble Administrator.

In particular, a strong appeal was made to the Administrator to modernize e-CAB by revising, refining, and amending the Articles of Memorandum, and preparing a transparent and comprehensive voter list of genuine business members for the next election, ensuring that a fair, free, impartial, and participatory election takes place.

This is how I envision e-CAB in 2025.

1. I want to see e-CAB as the parent organization of the e-commerce industry. The government and stakeholders should consider e-CAB in any matter related to Bangladesh's e-commerce industry.

2. As an association, I want to see e-CAB as a fully and entirely non-political business organization. Personal political views should in no way influence the organization.

3. I would like to see the government declare the e-commerce sector as an industry through the contributions of e-CAB.

4. I would like to see the inclusion of e-commerce as a category in trade licenses.

5.I want to see e-CAB as a fully member-friendly association.

6. I want complete transparency and accountability in the activities of e-CAB and want to make it completely corruption-free.

7. For the future e-CAB, it is very important to ensure transparency and accountability through the reform of the Articles of Memorandum or Union Rules, and to establish the rights of the members of the association. It is essential to make corrections, changes, and refinements, ensuring that the rules are up-to-date and modern. When it was done in 2014, it was like a copy-paste, with many mistakes, mismatches, and unclear parts. A complete, coherent, and understandable set of rules or Articles of Memorandum should be created in alignment with existing laws like the Companies Act, Trade Organization Act, and other relevant circulars. Now is the right time to revise, refine, change, and modernize the Articles of Memorandum of e-CAB, addressing each of the following issues in these reforms.

I. I want to amend the Articles of Association to ensure that no one can be elected more than twice in a row.

II. Instead of 11 members, 15 members can be included in the EC Committee.

III. The period of membership must be more than two years to be a candidate in the EC committee election. However, according to the rules and due process, they will be eligible to become a voter if they become a member 120 days before the election.

IV. The Article of Memorandum needs to be amended so that the members get the right to know all the information, including the minutes of the EC committee meetings, financial transactions, or activities, and accurate information on any subject, ensuring transparency and accountability.

V. I would like to have a complete memorandum of instructions regarding the responsibilities of the next e-CAB standing committee and its chairman or vice-chairman. Additionally, members with relevant expertise should be able to become chairman or vice-chairman.

VI. I want to ensure that the proposals or plans adopted by the Standing Committee are communicated to each member.

VII. In the larger interest of the industry, I want an effective Legal Advisory Panel consisting of experienced individuals from the industry who will advise the EC Committee according to their needs.

VIII. I want a fully independent secretariat. The EC committee should not be able to influence the Secretariat's operations in any way. Therefore, the Article of Memorandum needs to be amended.

IX. To become a member or voter of e-CAB, having a website and payment gateway must be mandatory.

X. To become a member of e-CAB, I want to see a trade license that is three to four years old along with other documents like TIN, BIN, and a bank account as mandatory.

XI. There should be clear provisions to ensure that only genuine traders can become members. Having a website and payment gateway should be mandatory for becoming an e-commerce trader."

XII. Additionally, many topics or clauses are ambiguous, which often leaves room for unethical or rule-violating actions.

8. I want to divide the members of e-CAB into three categories: General Member, Associate Member, and Affiliated Member, and accordingly, I want to represent the EC Committee proportionately. (In this case, we can follow the basis).

9. I would like to honor the entrepreneurs, founders, co-founders as well as the founding members of e-CAB.

10. I would like to publish a newsletter on the progress of e-CAB's work on a monthly basis.

11. I want to set up a research wing for research, information, and data on the past, present, and future of Bangladesh's e-commerce industry and the possibilities along with the obstacles, including its obstacles and possibilities.

12. To increase networking among members, I want to categorize them according to the company category or type of business.

13. I want to make an incubator center with established member companies for mentoring SMEs and companies in the startup model.

14. I would like to arrange loans or incentives for e-CAB members with different banks and financial institutions on easy terms.

15. I would like to see more involvement of general members outside the EC committee in any kind of policy making.

16. Providing collateral-free loans to e-commerce merchants. Unlike traditional offline businesses, e-commerce merchants often do not have much machinery or establishment. Instead, they have technology, goodwill, customer data, courier data, Facebook likes or reach, or website acceptance. These should be considered when offering loans.

17. Through CLTS or Central Logistics Trucking System, everyone should get the right idea about sales, business growth, and the company.

18. In almost all other countries of the world where e-commerce has been accepted, e-commerce has become cashless. In Bangladesh, cash on delivery is still prevalent, but to make cashless transactions through MSS companies in Bangladesh, in the case of e-commerce, the service charge of MMS company should be reduced to Tk 0.5 and the payment gateway charge should be kept within Tk 0.6. As a result, the price of the customer will be reduced.

19. In the case of Facebook ads, the ad limit should be a minimum of $30,000 per year for each e-commerce merchant.

20. Cross-border e-commerce should be opened for the promotion of domestic products internationally. In this case, the courier charge VAT tax can be relaxed for cross-border transactions. Cross-border should be encouraged by making the International Postal Service of Bangladesh more up-to-date and acceptable.

To make the next e-CAB election fair, free, impartial, and participatory, it is essential to create a transparent and genuine voter list consisting of real business members. Instead of allowing anyone to become a voter simply by being a member, certain criteria should be added to ensure that only real business owners are eligible to vote. Below are some of my suggestions.

1. To become an e-CAB member or voter, it is mandatory to have a website and payment gateway. Those who operate businesses only through Facebook should be associate members, not regular members, and they will not have voting rights.

2. Update means the membership must be renewed for the current year.

3. Must have a trade license that is 3 to 4 years old.

4. Completely updated means that this year's tax return must be updated.

5. A copy of the bank statement or a certificate from the bank confirming account activity and solvency should be mandatory as the basis of proof that the business is operational.

6. Those who are fully employed should be identified and allowed to vote only after verifying that their member institution is operational.

7. If multiple members are using the same phone number or office, any one member should be given the right to vote.

8. The renewal fee must be paid online. If the payment is made from the same bKash number or account for someone outside the company, the member's voting rights should be revoked. In other words, the renewal fee of their own company must be paid by the member from their own portal.

9. The company must have its own office, and its address must match the trade license. If not, there must be a letter of amendment from the city corporation.

10. In the case of a limited company, no one other than the MD, chairman, or directors can be a representative which means others cannot be a voter.

In the coming days, the acceptance of e-CAB will continue to increase. As the sole trade body for e-commerce, e-CAB will elevate this sector to unprecedented heights, where e-commerce will contribute to Bangladesh's GDP.

Mohammad Mozammel Hoque Mridha (Shohel Mridha)

Founding Member of e-Cab, MemberID -33

Founder keenlay.com