The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) is all set to launch an e-commerce platform enabling local entrepreneurs to sell different products in the domestic and global markets.

Artisans of cottage and micro industries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be able to get registered with this BSCIC Online Market to promote and expand the market of their products.

At the same time, 31,536 entrepreneurs registered and trained at the BSCIC can periodically display and sell their 77, 226 types of products on this platform.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun is scheduled to inaugurate the platform at InterContinental Dhaka today.

"It's the beginning of a new era for…entrepreneurs," said BSCIC Chairman Md Mushtaq Hasan.

"This initiative of the BSCIC will further accelerate the growth of the industry and encourage and inspire entrepreneurs. The platform will play an important role in taking small and medium enterprises forward in building an industrialised Bangladesh," he said.

There will be multiple options to transact in multiple currencies, such as in Bangladeshi taka, the US and Singapore dollars, Russian ruble and Swedish krona.

Agricultural and processed food, handicrafts, agarwood, jute, bamboo, cane and wooden furniture, fertilisers, pesticides and herbal and beauty products are set to be available.

There will also be products of light engineering, leather, electrical and electronics, plastic, rubber and polymer, glass and ceramics, ICT and software alongside garments, pharmaceuticals, toiletries, toys and jewelleries.

Entrepreneurs of cottage and micro industries and SMEs were optimistic of the new initiative. Among them is Ibrahim Khalil, who opened Eve Fashion in 2015 and then became enlisted as a BSCIC entrepreneur in 2018.

"It's great news…This initiative will add a new dimension to our business," he said.

"There are many entrepreneurs in our country who make many good quality products. But they cannot sell the product to any buyer outside the country," said Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, president of the National Association of Small & Cottage Industries of Bangladesh.

"With this initiative of the BSCIC, one can sell products at fair prices. This initiative enriches their business," he said.

The BSCIC has also invited Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for information and communication technology, to be a special guest at the event.

"Now we all ‍are citizens of the global village. That's why in this time of globalisation, we have to look at cross border business.

And there is no alternative to trade diversification. We have to find new products and new markets," said Palak.

"I think this initiative of the BSCIC will open up new markets for exporting products," he told The Daily Star.

State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Md Jashim Uddin are also expected to be present.