Background

The use of information and communication technology has been playing a vital role in the 21st century due to globalization and the government is encouraged to adapting with the coming future. The democratic government has declared the “Vision 2021” in the election manifesto which targets establishment of a resourceful and modern country by 2021 through effective use of information and communication technology-a “Digital Bangladesh“.

“Digital Bangladesh” does not only mean the broad use of computers, perhaps it means the modern philosophy of effective and useful use of technology in terms of implementing the promises in education, health, job placement, poverty reduction etc. Therefore, the government underscores a changing attitude, positive thinking and innovative ideas for the success of “Digital Bangladesh”.

The philosophy of “Digital Bangladesh” comprises ensuring people’s democracy and human rights, transparency, accountability, establishing justice and ensuring delivery of government services to the citizens of Bangladesh through maximum use of technology, with the ultimate goal being the overall improvement of the daily lifestyle of general people. This includes all classes of people and does not discriminate people in terms of technology

EKSHOP is a platform developed by A2i Bangladesh to facilitate rural entrepreneurs and also dissolve the gap of communication between industry stakeholders. This program is internationally sponsored by USAID and UNDP.

How product helped

• Implemented in 5000 UDC Connected with BPO (Bangladesh Post Office).
• SDK connectivity for Over 30+ ecommerce platforms.
• SDK based middleware to connect partners in the system.

Technologies Involved

• NodeJS
• MongoDB
• AngularJS
• PHP Laravel Framework
• SDK development
• REST API
• CDN
• OAuth 2.0

Challenges

Compared to other countries, Bangladesh is a late entrant in E-Commerce. Yet, this sector observed tremendous growth within a short time. The rural parts of the country are rich in product diversification and unlike countries like India and China, the population in Bangladesh is dense and uniform. Hence comparatively huge barriers like language and cultural norms will not exist here, giving rise to a huge untapped potential that can be nurtured with a well thought out strategy

For rural ecommerce, A2i will aim to facilitate a comprehensive e-commerce ecosystem, and take care of the crucial factors determining the functionality of the ecosystem, allowing any partner or player to take advantage of the backbone created by a2i for economic opportunities

The ecosystem proposed by a2i will follow an “Assisted E-commerce model”, and will include UDC Entrepreneurs, or Agents, as the facilitating parties in the entire transaction cycle, taking into account the following factors

• Social and cultural practice along locals to trust only the local shops (“mudir dokan”, “hatbazar”, etc.) and to integrate the shopping activity into their daily lifestyles
• Lack of know how among the consumers about operating internet portals
• Lack of understanding among rural consumers about the benefits, drawbacks and processes of e-commerce
• Lack of a reliable payment solution that protects both the buyers and the sellers
• Lack of a reliable solution for logistics and delivery

Software Methodology

The section on methodology should describe how the study will be carried out, including the agile methodology to be used to collect, analyze, record and report information. This section should therefore include a description of:

• Main phases in the study (Design, Development, Implementation, Piloting, Operation, Maintenance)
• How stakeholders and process be involved and the participation promoted, including third-party target groups

Future Steps

Phase 2 is now it’s way with the more extended features which may include:

• 05 E-commerce Partnership
• 5000+ UDC centers