Amidst the ongoing crisis, e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB) – have sought government assistance to recover from the extensive damage caused by the disruption of internet services and other issues.
E-CAB President Shomi Kaiser presented the extent of the damage and the current situation, along with several demands and suggestions for overcoming the crisis at a press conference at its Banani office on Wednesday.
At the outset, the E-CAB president thanked the government for restoring internet and Facebook services.
She mentioned that over the past 13 days, this sector has suffered losses amounting to approximately Tk 1,700 crore, with the losses increasing daily.
She said due to the internet shutdown, this business came to a complete halt. Although internet services have been restored, the low speed and the continued blockage of social media platform Facebook mean that the crisis has not yet been overcome, she added.
She noted that 95 per cent of transactions in the e-commerce sector are still halted due to curfew, security risks, and other reasons. She mentioned that E-CAB is conducting a survey to assess the actual damage.
E-CAB leaders called for extending the repayment period of bank loans by at least six months for affected entrepreneurs, providing loans on easier terms, temporarily waiving VAT on logistics and digital marketing, waiving and extending the renewal fees for trade licenses, and suggested the government to contact Facebook to refund or reschedule advertisements that were active but not running.
E-CAB Senior Vice President Mohammad Sahab Uddin Shipon, Vice President Syeda Ambarin Reza, General Secretary Nasima Akter Nisha were present at the time, among others.
