Can you become an importer in one and a half hours?

Even though Bangladesh has experienced a burgeoning but steady growth of its economy for over a decade, the employment opportunities have not followed the same pattern. The problem was exacerbated due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic when many lost their jobs. 

As a result, many people have started to search for alternative career paths, focusing on self-employment and entrepreneurship. To pick up the necessary skills for such a shift in their lives, people are relying on online educational platforms like Coursera or Udemy. 

Bangladesh has seen its fair share of such educational platforms; Ghoori Learning Network is one of them. Along with the usual array of courses, it also contains a course which aims to teach about importing products from China and creating a business in the process. 

This becomes more concerning as the course is priced at Tk999. But as I got 40 percent off, I was able to purchase it at Tk599, even though that 'limited time offer' never seems to go away. The course promises to teach "how to import products directly from China and start an online, wholesale or retail business in Bangladesh." 

So let us get into the lessons themselves. 

The first five lessons are made to familiarise everyone with the different entities involved in the importation process, namely: the supplier, the bank through which transaction will take place, customs clearing agents and harmonised systems code, which is used to describe different products. 

Starting from lesson six, the course just turns into a summary of the list of documentation needed for the importation process. But it even fails to accomplish that multiple times. 

For example, the course mentions that one needs to form a company to initiate the importation process but fails to mention crucially necessary documents like the Articles of Association and necessary particulars about the shareholders. 

In another instance, the instructor fails to mention that acquiring a trade license will require a holding tax payment receipt, a Declaration of Non Judicial stamp to abide by the rules and regulations of City Corporation and Municipal Corporation and a work permit from Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.

But as a course listed in the 'entrepreneurship' category, you would expect to find practical, 'on the ground' knowledge that will help demystify a process as complicated as importation. Sadly, you would be wrong. 

There is a concerning lack of practical knowledge in this course, which would be crucial for creating a business from scratch. Take for example product selection, a crucial step for starting any business. Determining which products to import and sell can make or break someone's business. 

As Md. Abul Qasim, a small-time importer from Dhaka and the owner of Anan Chemicals said, "Sometimes we have to operate with razor-thin profit margins. So importing the product at the right time can be crucial for generating revenue. To make such a judgement call, you either have to work in a specific market for some time or you have to conduct comprehensive market research." 

The course does not show how to conduct such a survey or even share a list of products that can be potentially profitable. Such vague instructions can be dangerous to navigate for any aspiring entrepreneur. 

The course is also restrictive in its method of importation as it only teaches about the usage of LC or Letter of Credit. But it is far from the only useful method as one can also use Import Permits, Clearance permits or even the 'deferred payment' method. 

"An LC is an important piece of documentation to import goods. But there are products like books and commodities under commodity aid which do not require the usage of an LC," said Qasim. 

In fact, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has requested Bangladesh Bank to order other banks to refrain from opening back-to-back LCs for companies without a bonded warehouse license. 

Importation is also a notoriously complicated process with a lot of moving parts. One simple misunderstanding can mean the late arrival of a shipment and the loss of potential revenue. 

"Anything can go wrong in the importation process, especially if one is conducting their business through the Internet. That is why many small importers prefer to visit China to set up a steady supply line", said Qasim. 

But the course does not teach to anticipate or react to any potential challenges new importers may face during the importation process. It also fails to educate its viewers about interacting with people from another culture. 

To its credit, the course teaches its audience to search for suppliers through Alibaba and gives bite-sized episodes which are easier to watch.
 
But if you want a comprehensive list of the documents required for the importation procedure, you can just visit Bangladesh Trade Portal and download the "Import Procedure" file for free! 

As a result, the whole course turns out to be underwhelming at best and unnecessary at worst. Needless to say, one can find a plethora of resources on this specific topic by just visiting the Trade Portal and the Customs Portal. 

And when a paid course gets outperformed by free resources, it becomes evident that the course was not worth the price and time.