Alesha Mart seeks Tk 300cr from government

Alesha Mart – an e-commerce platform entangled in controversy – has sought Tk300 crore in loans from the government to cover working capital deficiency, operational costs and payment of customers’ dues.

The company on Sunday submitted a letter to the Ministry of Commerce requesting the fund. However, ministry sources told The Business Post that they do not have any provisions allowing cash support to a company.

In its letter, Alesha Mart had further assured of providing necessary collateral against the loan, including 3,000 decimals of land as mortgage. The company claimed that it is the highest growing South Asian company with transactions exceeding Tk 14 billion in only six months.

The e-commerce platform shut down their office on December 2 until further notice.

According to their letter, the company currently has 50,000 employees, 1.3 million app users and 0.8 million orders per month. “All our plans were meant for becoming the market leader in 2030,” it read.

The platform further said they are confident about solving their unforeseen problems efficiently.

Earlier, Alesha Mart closed their office and all formal activities until further notice citing security reasons. The organisation claimed that some people came to their office and attacked their officials.

Alesha Group has more than a dozen registered companies including some “profitable” ones which, the founder claimed, have been subsidising the e-commerce business to the tune of multi-billion Taka.

On the issue, Director General Digital Commerce Cell and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce AHM Safiquzzaman said, “Alesha Mart sent us two letters on Sunday. In one, they sought Tk 300 crore in loans, and in another, they asked for security to resume their operations.

“We recommended the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure Alesha Mart’s security.”

He continued, “We do not have any facility for providing loans to a company. Alesha seeks a bank loan and they are ready to provide collateral. The company told us that despite their efforts, they have not been able secure loans.

“We cannot do anything directly about the company’s request for financial support. So, we will recommend the Bangladesh Bank to take steps in this regard as per the regulations.”