Dubai firm to open offices in Bangladesh to offer e-commerce services

Omar Hijazi, CEO of Tejari, a Dubai-based online marketplace, gestures as he talks to The Daily Star. Hijazi says his company wants to tap opportunities by offering Bangladeshi companies online business.Photo: STAR

Tejari, a Dubai-based online marketplace, is to open offices in Bangladesh to offer e-commerce services to exporters, its chief executive officer said yesterday.
Bangladesh produces world-class garments, pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods and jute, but many countries, especially in the Middle East (ME), are not aware of this, Tejari's CEO Omar Hijazi told The Daily Star in an interview.
“Bangladeshi companies have enormous potential to capture the booming market in the ME countries which now rely very much on e-commerce,” Hijazi said.
He said: “We'll set up a link between the suppliers in Bangladesh and the buyers in the Middle East.”
Established in 2000, Tejari provides a single point of contact for an open and growing community of buyers and suppliers, permitting spot purchases and online auctions that give participants real-time access to new markets and cost savings, the CEO said.
“We see Bangladesh as an emerging market because its last year's export-import trade was worth about US$28 billion,” Hijazi said. “We're here to tap the opportunity by offering the local companies online business.”
Tejari has so far facilitated more than 100,000 tenders worth US$4.5 billion. It transacted US$1.2 billion worth of tenders and auctions in 2007, the CEO said.
Hijazi also focused on Tejari's expansion plan and the recent global trend of e-business.
The company has already operations in 14 countries. “Now we've targeted the emerging markets, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Russia and India this year,” he added.
On Tejari's plan in Bangladesh, Hejazi said a dedicated web site would be developed for Bangladeshi companies. Catalogues of different products will be displayed there for global buyers.
Before launching its office on April 14, Tejari will train Bangladeshi businessmen on online marketing under a strategic cooperation agreement with the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) signed here yesterday.
There are about 5,500 members in the DCCI.
“If we can bring some 10 percent of the DCCI members into the business in the first year, it will be good for us,” he said. The company targets US$50 million worth of business transactions in the first year of its operation here, Hijazi said.
Pharmaceutical products are being manufactured in Bangladesh, but ME countries do not know them. “They (ME) import medicines from Europe, India and other developed countries at a higher price.”
On Bangladesh's challenges for doing e-business, Omar said IT infrastructure and education are the major two challenges.
“Agreement with Tejari is giving us a window to enter into the booming ME markets,” Rizwan Bin Farouq, who has been appointed Tejari's agent in Bangladesh, told The Daily Star.