Ekhanei.com
Screenshot of the main page on 23 December 2016
Type of businessPrivate company
Type of site
Classifieds
Available inBengali, English
Founded2006 (2006) (renamed 2014)
Headquarters
Dhaka
,
Bangladesh
Area servedBangladesh
OwnerSchibsted, Telenor and Naspers
Key peopleShylendra A S Nathan (CEO)[1]
URLekhanei.com
AdvertisingNone
RegistrationOptional
Current statusClosed

Ekhanei (Bengali: এখানেই, lit. 'right here') or ekhanei.com was a mobile-based online marketplace classified advertisements website of buying and selling property, gadgets, vehicles and personal items for sale. Tickets and jobs are also posted among other things. Starting in 2006 as CellBazaar,[2] it was the first online free classified ads website in Bangladesh. By Alexa Internet ranking, as of August 2015, it was the top shopping site[3] and the fifth business and economy website[4] in Bangladesh. In 2017 the parent company announced to shutdown it.

History

Ekhanei.com was launched, as Cellbazaar, in 2006. It was owned by Grameenphone, the largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.[5] In 2010, after reaching four million users, it was acquired by Telenor, a major global telecom company with particular strength in Asian markets,[6][7] with operations in, according to the company website, 13 countries.[8][9] CellBazaar the company won a Tech Award in 2007 in the category of economic development,[10] and GSM Global Mobile Awards (Barcelona, 2008) in the category of "Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development".[11]

The company became Ekhanei in June 2014 when it was overtaken by SnT Classified.[12] SnT Classifieds is an equal shareholding joint venture between Schibsted, a major global classifieds company,[13][14] with operations in, according to the company website, 30 countries,[15] and Telenor.[12] Telenor bought 33.3% shares of the online marketplace company, while contributing its Bangladeshi asset Cellbazaar.[12] Schibsted contributed its South American assets.[12]

South African Naspers, Norway's Schibsted ASA and Telenor ASA, and Singapore Press Holdings joined in a co-operation agreement in November 2014, which included the transfer of assets and merger of operation in many markets including Bangladesh,[16] where Nasper's Bangladesh operation OLX was launched in January 2015.[17] In January 2011, Schibsted, Naspers and Telenor merged their operations into one platform – Ekhanei.com.[18][19] As of 2015, it is 50.3 percent owned by SnT Classified, the parent company of ekhanei.com, and 49.7 percent owned by Naspers.[12][18]

On May 17, 2017, Telenor, the parent company of market leader mobile operator Grameenphone, had shut down the service. The group, one of the world's major mobile operators, took the decision due to inability to develop the company into a sustainable and profitable business.

Based on online classifieds market condition and not being able to develop the company into a sustainable and profitable business, the owners have decided to close the operations of the company, effective of May 17, 2017[20]

Telenor and its partners' main job is to take care of the affected employees, who will be offered "severance packages" according to company policies. Though Telenor has decided to close one of its venture's operations, its sister concern Grameenphone is doing well with GP shop, where they only sell gadgets.

Market

Internet users in Bangladesh had Tk 147 billion worth of 105 million used goods in their stocks in according to MetrixLab, a market research firm,[17] According to Bangladesh Bank, around 1 million versatile clients access the mobile banking benefits. Over 1 billion transactions are made through mobile banking accounts.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reaz, Shaer (14 September 2015). "Digital Cows". The Daily Star.
  2. ↑ CellBazaar: Enabling M-Commerce in Bangladesh Archived 30 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, ITID Journal, Information Technologies & International Development
  3. ↑ Alexa ranking: Bangladesh shopping
  4. ↑ Alexa ranking: Bangladesh business and economy
  5. ↑ Economic-Impact-of-Mobile-Communications, page 66, AMTOB
  6. ↑ Telenor, Forbes
  7. ↑ Norwegian telecom chief says spectrum shortage a problem, Asian REview
  8. ↑ Countries, Telenor Group
  9. ↑ Realini, Carol; Mehta, Karl (2015). Financial Inclusion at the Bottom of the Pyramid. FriesenPress. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-4602-6553-6.
  10. ↑ "Past Laureates". The Tech Awards. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "GP CellBazaar wins Global Mobile Award". The Daily Star. 14 February 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Rahman, Tahmidur (4 June 2014). "Cellbazaar formally turns to Ekhanei". Dhaka Tribune.
  13. ↑ Norway's Schibsted: No. 3 in Online Classifieds, Bloomberg
  14. ↑ Filloux, Frederic (3 December 2012). "Nordic giant Schibsted wants to be world's No 1 for online classifieds". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ Countries, Countries Media Group,
  16. ↑ Naspers ties up with rivals to boost online offering, fin24tech
  17. 1 2 "Internet users have Tk 14,700cr of used goods in stock". The Daily Star. 28 April 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Ekhanei.com, OLX go for merger". The Daily Star. 11 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Islam, Muhammad Zahidul (11 January 2015). "Ekhanei & OLX to merge into a single platform". Dhaka Tribune.
  20. ↑ "Telenor shuts down ekhanei.com". The Daily Star. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
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