Daraz to invest Tk 1,000cr in 4 years

Daraz intends to invest Tk 1,000 crore in Bangladesh in the next 3-4 years to ramp up its operation by building infrastructure and ecosystem, the Alibaba Group-backed e-commerce venture said yesterday.

Bjarke Mikkelsen, founder & chief executive of Daraz Group, announced the plan marking the e-commerce company's eight years of operation in Bangladesh.

In 2014, Daraz began its journey in Bangladesh with just five employees and a website.

The e-commerce platform has now 7 million customers, 41,000 sellers and numerous partners and stakeholders.

The disclosure comes at a time when 1,800 e-commerce platforms are operating in Bangladesh to feed the growing demand for online shopping.

Industry operators said annually nearly Tk 7,000 crore worth of products are sold through e-commerce firms in Bangladesh.

"With over 50,000 seller partners, we have expanded the horizon for e-commerce ventures across the country and enabled businesses while transforming consumer behaviours. The acquisition by Alibaba played a major role behind this strength of ours," said Syed Mostahidal Hoq, managing director of Daraz Bangladesh, at a celebration ceremony at InterContinental in Dhaka yesterday.

Md Tajdin Hassan, chief marketing officer of Daraz Bangladesh, said prospect of e-commerce is sky high in Bangladesh compared most other Asian nations.

"Currently, the e-commerce sector in Bangladesh comprises only 1-2 per cent share of the country's retail sales. For the last seven years, Daraz has been educating the market to influence consumer behaviour to expand the e-commerce services around the nation and contribute to the economy."

Wholesale and retail trade accounts for 15 per cent of Bangladesh's gross domestic product of $465 billion estimated in 2021-22 the fiscal year, according to data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Top brasses of Daraz, including Md Riyad Hossain, chief commercial officer; Zornica Zafirova, group COO; Tasfin Alam Khondoker, chief operating officer; AHM Hasinul Quddus Rusho, chief corporate affairs officer, and Shabbir Hossain, chief human resource officer, were also present at the event.