How do you foster a culture of innovation at Daraz with your diverse experience from multiple industries?
Daraz is a company that encourages the adaptation of constant innovation at every step and every level of its operation. I have had the privilege of working at companies that have always demanded a constant array of product knowledge, market expertise, and agility to accept the market transformation. All the previous experiences have proven to be quite effective for me to be able to adapt and add value to Daraz’s culture of implementing innovation at all levels.
As a successful marketer, how would you characterize the key features that build and sustain a company’s legacy?
In order to build and sustain a company’s legacy, it is critical to align yourself with the company’s vision and believe that every effort made by your company will effectively and efficiently impact society in a positive way. As a marketer in today’s world, effective communication is most pertinent to shape how a company is perceived. Internally, a company’s values must be upheld and reflected in every action, and a culture of focusing on outcomes based on strong principles of good governance should be practiced and instilled upon every employee from a very early stage. An infinite mindset which enables leaders to create a self-sustaining pathway that will allow competent individuals to carry the values and the belief system forward is also essential.
You have taken a lot of initiative for the youth. Why do you contribute your time to work so closely for grooming the younger generation?
The youth of this nation constitute one-third of the total population. This younger generation of this country will take the nation forward. The quicker we empower them with knowledge and skillset, the faster our economic growth and development will be. Hence, I have been contributing my time to work closely with the youth. I believe this is an opportunity for me to give back to our beloved nation.
After strengthening foothold in the media industry, why did you switch to e-commerce?
A common space between the industry I previously worked in – the media, and the one I am currently working in – e-commerce, is trust. It is equally challenging as well as exciting when it comes to uplifting the trust within the customers. The future of this economy lies in the development of the digital ecosystem. The e-commerce industry has grown to be the most promising sector. I truly believe that with my knowledge and expertise, I can truly add value to this industry. This industry is for the change agents, the innovators, and the believers who truly think that they can make a difference in people’s lives.
With Daraz, where do you want to see yourself in the future landscape?
As much as the future landscape is concerned, I see myself contributing to the development of this company and the entire ecosystem. That is my aspiration. I don’t see it as a mere position or job. I see it as a responsibility that I have towards this nation and my beloved people.
Daraz’s 11.11 campaign is taking place for the 4th time this year. What can you tell about its impact over the years?
Daraz’s 11.11 Campaign is the largest campaign in Bangladesh, and its magnitude echoes beyond borders as this is a global event. This campaign stands as a true testament to digitalization – from thousands of SMEs and to major brands – all participating in a single digital platform that allows them to establish their digital footprint even more firmly. We can clearly see that consumer behavior is drastically changing every day as more and more people rely on us to provide them with their necessities from the comfort of their homes. Hence, every year, the scale of this campaign becomes larger than before. Last year, we generated BDT 100 crores worth of sales; this year, we are targeting to generate BDT 200 crores worth of sales.
How did you navigate being onboarded with the responsibility of being the CMO of one of the leading e-commerce platforms during the pandemic?
Pandemic has hit all the sectors in a hard way. When I joined Daraz Bangladesh as the CMO on July 2021, I knew the pressure of navigating such a fast-growing industry would be an enormous challenge. But I am always driven by challenges. During my initial days as the CMO, the industry was in turmoil due to unethical business practices applied by a few unregulated e-commerce companies. However, at Daraz, our good governance and our capacity to be compliant as per Government laws have always been our strongest suit. Re-building consumer trust has been my key focus ever since I joined this company. We ran a few successful campaigns and also took the then-industry scenario as an opportunity to create awareness amongst our sellers to ensure customer satisfaction. These small initiatives helped us to reinforce trust amongst our customers. And these experiences at the very initial stage of taking up this vast role have helped me to learn and be more vigilant.
You have also been awarded in the prestigious Asia Marketing Federation (AMF)’s Top Outstanding Youth Marketer of the Year category. Tell us about the intriguing experience.
It was a humbling and inspiring experience. The honor was gratifying. The Bangladesh Chapter of the AMF chose nominees in three categories: Youth, Women and Netizen, after monitoring their prowess closely. The Youth category, from which I was nominated, requires the individual to have extraordinary prowess within their field, while being under the age of 35. The Bangladesh contingent then sent documents, which encapsulated the past three years of our work to the AMF jury board.
After the jury board received the documents, they then chose which nominees from the respective countries will be eligible to present their defense, which happened on Zoom this year. The presentations were to be marked by the AMF jury. One rule that they follow is board members from the same country as the presenters have to opt out for that particular defense.
Ultimately, I faced the board, competing against participants from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. I must say, it was humbling for me when I was selected for the award.
What should be done if Bangladesh wants to excel in the thriving e-commerce space?
In recent days, e-commerce around the world experienced phenomenal growth, and Bangladesh has also witnessed a fresh impetus in internet commerce growth. A significant number of people across the country are getting habituated to online shopping. We anticipated this growth, but in reality, we didn’t think this would happen in such a short time. The outbreak of COVID-19 has expedited the digital transformation and contributed hugely to the recent growth of e-commerce. Now, we have to sustain this and withstand any adversity that comes our way. Formulating an international standard policy framework should be the first. And while doing this, the government and the regulatory body should consider the interest of all parties involved in the e-commerce ecosystem, especially the customers. In the future, a regulated framework will help us to prevent such incidents that happened in the recent past due to some errant e-commerce platform. Simultaneously, this sector needs to focus on innovation and excellence in customer service.
