Report On

How ShopUp is changing the lives of small entrepreneurs using

digital platform

By

Mushfiq Sarker
17364041

An internship report submitted to the Dr. Suman Paul Chowdhury in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
MBA

MBA
Brac University
14th January 2020

© 2020. Brac University

All rights reserved.
Declaration

It is hereby declared that

1. The internship report submitted is my/our own original work while completing degree at Brac University.

2. The report does not contain material previously published or written by a third party, except where this is

appropriately cited through full and accurate referencing.

3. The report does not contain material which has been accepted, or submitted, for any other degree or

diploma at a university or other institution.

4. I/We have acknowledged all main sources of help.

Student’s Full Name & Signature:

___________________________________________
Mushfiq Sarker
17364041

Supervisor’s Full Name & Signature:

___________________________________________
Dr. Suman Paul Chowdhury
Assistant Professor, BRAC Business School
BRAC University
Letter of transmittal

14th January, 2020

To
Dr. Suman Paul Chowdhury
Assistant Professor,
BRAC University

Subject: Submission of Internship Report for the MBA Program.

Dear Sir,
I would like to express to you my robust thanks for your valuable supervision and support for me to
prepare my internship report. With immense pleasure, I am submitting my internship report on
“How ShopUp is changing the lives of small entrepreneurs using digital platform”, which was
assigned to me as a part of my MBA Program.

I hope that the report will meet your expectations and would really appreciate it if you would
enlighten me with your thoughts and views regarding the report. I will be always available for
answering any query related to this paper.

Thank you for your support and tolerance.

Yours Sincerely,
……………………………..

Mushfiq Sarker
ID: 17364041
MBA
BRAC University
Acknowledgement

This report would have been impossible without the valuable contributions and limitless help
of several individuals. They have generously supplied insightful comments, helpful
suggestions, and contributions all of which has progressively enhanced the quality of this
report.

First, my thank goes to the Almighty Allah for giving me the grace to finish this report. I
would like to thank all the authors of the journals, books and articles that are secondary
sources from where we have collected necessary information regarding this project.

I would like to thank my respectable supervisor Mr. Ishtiaq Hossain for giving me the
opportunity to perform my internship program under his supervision in ShopUp. I would also
like to express my humble gratitude to all of the colleagues of different teams, especially the
“Acquisition and Communication” team who not only helped me to prepare this report but
also helped me with their guidance and by sharing their valuable knowledge.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my respected internship supervisor Dr.Sumon

Paul Chowdhury, Assistant Professor, BRAC University, for giving me the proper guidelines
to prepare this Internship Report. Without your help, this report would not have been possible
to complete properly. Your support and guidance gave me the courage to make this report.

Finally thanks to BRAC University for arranging an excellent opportunity to make an

internship course work where the students are getting the ultimate benefit to make their
academic learning into the experience.
Executive Summary
ShopUp is a f-commerce based company that aids the small entrepreneurs with the made-
easy services they need to run their online business smoothly. ShopUp sources products and
put them on their website and an app for the merchants. The company also provides loan,
offers delivery service and help the merchants with boosting or paid promotion of their
products on facebook.
This report is prepared as a part of the internship program to complete the MBA program of
BRAC University. Based on my two months of working period in ShopUp, I tried to explain
the main focuses of ShopUp and how they are changing the lives of small business owner by
teaching them the tactics of online business and how to use the digital platform at best.
The report contains an overview of ShopUp, services ShopUp provide, contribution of
ShopUp in the e-commerce industry and a few recommendations that can hel them to help
their merchants better.
Table of Contents
Letter of transmittal................................................................................................................................. 2
Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................................. 3
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Objective ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Scope ................................................................................................................................................... 9
Method ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 10
ShopUp at a glance ............................................................................................................................... 11
Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Vision ................................................................................................................................................ 11
Mission.............................................................................................................................................. 11
My responsibilities as an Intern ............................................................................................................ 12
ShopUp and the e-commerce industry of Bangladesh .......................................................................... 13
How ShopUp works .......................................................................................................................... 13
Reseller Platform .............................................................................................................................. 14
Micro Finance Loan Service ............................................................................................................. 15
Delivery Service................................................................................................................................ 15
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 16
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Reference .............................................................................................................................................. 18
Introduction

Objective
The following report has been prepared as part of the internship program as a requirement for
the Masters of Business Administration of BRAC University and it aims towards providing
an overview under the supervision of Dr. Sumon Paul Chowdhury, Assistant Professor,
BRAC University. The main objective of this study is to determine the Contribution of
ShopUp in the E- Commerce industry and how the company is changing the lives of small
entrepreneurs using the digital platform. As a startup, the company is already creating
changes, and on its process to be one of the leading giants in terms of aiding the growing
economy of Bangladesh.

Scope

During my time at ShopUp I got to learn about the e-commerce industry and how to
communicate with the small entrepreneurs so that they can learn about the exact offerings
ShopUp wants to serve. I also got to know how social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn,
Tweeter etc. works as a tool for communication and for commercial approaches. Along with
the daily work schedule, I also travelled and interviewed some of the clients as a part of my
job, for a better insight about how ShopUp works and if the current strategy is upto the goals
the company wants to achieve.

Method

The report is made using my practical and theoretical experience at ShopUp I could gather
during my time over there. Along with the available details in the social media, with the
information my colleagues were willing to provide, and documents that I found over the
internet as a secondary source of information. ShopUp stays very active over facebook,
instagram, youtube and LinkedIn, which helped me to pinpoint the valuable add ups I have
made in this report. It is to declare that I prepared this report with only the information
ShopUp made available for me, without mentioning anything confidential or questionable for
the company.
Limitations

The report was made based on my experience of nearly three months in ShopUp, it would
contain more to the point and well-structured flow of information if the duration of my work
before writing this report were more than at least 6 months. During the write up, I didn’t face
any major limitation as my supervisor and the colleagues were very helpful while preparing
it. However, confidential information were not provided by anyone. As I joined during a rush
time for the company, I myself knocked the doors for insights very carefully so that the
vibrant work flow of ShopUp maintains its own pace
ShopUp at a glance

Overview

ShopUp is a one-stop solution for small entrepreneurs who want run own business, mostly
online. ShopUp sources products for the potential entrepreneurs, display the products on their
website and the app. ShopUp also does the packaging and deliver the products to the
customers on behalf of ShopUp’s clients. A business owner can basically earn just by
creating a facebook page and aligning it with ShopUp. The company also offers eloan, where
a business owner can apply for loan through ShopUp, that the company arranges from micro-
finance partners.

ShopUp started their journey on February, 2017. With the intelligent leadership of the co-
founders Afeef Zaman, Siffat Sarwar and Ataur Rahim Chowdhury, ShopUp has come this
far with the utmost dedication towards its plan to raise the small entrepreneurs up to their
potential.

Vision

ShopUp’s vision is to take the f-commerce industry into the next level to improve their
seller’s life and help them to build their business in an organized way.

Mission

ShopUp’s mission is to become the largest f-commerce platform in Bangladesh and help their
customers get the full benefit of being connected.
My responsibilities as an Intern
As I worked as a content writer with the Acquisition and Communication team of ShopUp, I
had to communicate with all the stakeholders of the company through facebook and LinkedIn
on a daily basis. ShopUp has its own tone of communication with the clients, and I had to
learn it fast. I had to moderate the facebook page and come up with new content ideas to keep
the momentum going and make customers aligned with the services my company provides. I
also had to write scripts and subtitles for different videos ShopUp shares on the social
platforms.
Along with the regular posts on social media, I also had the chance to write the contents on
banners, different documents like certificates and brochures for ShopUp. I wrote the
automated texts ShopUp sends to their clients time to time, maintaining the word limit very
carefully.
Here at ShopUp, employees maintain the internal communication through a software “Slack”.
Along with the usual activities related to Microsoft office tools and mailing, ShopUp closely
connects all the employees through slack which made reaching to any of the employee at
ShopUp super easy.

Challenges
The corporate world is full of new challenges, and I had to face the same. I learnt a lot
working here at ShopUp. Main challenge I faced here is the pace, the workplace was full of
energy and everyone in the company thinks further. ShopUp always believes in offering the
whole, with no lethargy. As a newbie I had to cope up fast to be a part of this thrilling work
environment.
ShopUp and the e-commerce industry of Bangladesh
Bangladesh being planned to be digitalized by the government, e-commerce industry is one
of the rapid booming sector of the country. ShopUp started the mission of changing the
wholse concept of buyung and selling of product online. Like the first world countries, now
an entrepreneur can reach worldwide customers with just a few clicks. As mentioned earlier,
most of the small entrepreneurs ShopUp helps are not seem to be that much tech savvy.
ShopUp to be honest showed them the way of digitalization and how they can be solvent
using its advantages.

How ShopUp works

ShopUp is a f-commerce site that works with the sellers to help them selling products without
much of a hassle. ShopUp offers different services to their merchants such as providing
eloan, delivery service inside and outside the country for the customers of their merchants,
Paid promotions for the merchants’ facebook pages and the products. ShopUp also arranges
different progras related to grooming the merchants so that they can be better at their own
businesses. The official facebook page along with a community page of ShopUp is active on
a daily basis. From sharing posts regarding the services, reviews of the valuable merchants
and their success stories to different offers time to time is posted regularly. Every day the
company thinks about new possibilities to run the company in full swing and aid the
merchants to grow at the same time.
Reseller Platform

The reseller platform of ShopUp is a brilliant approach to the potential entrepreneurs who
want to start a business of their own or already have a business that needs good quality
products. In Bangladesh, there are plenty of sources of products at every corner ready to be
sold, and people who want to start online business too. But doing business online using a
Facebook page suppose, is trickier than running a physical store if proper methods stays
unknown by the owner of that business. The ShopUp Reseller platform enables an
entrepreneur to get hold on thousands of products sourced from different parts of the country
at a reasonable price. There’s a dedicated app for the merchants through which they can get
all the facilities a business owner needs to run his/her business. Already there’s a lot of
success stories and happy business owners who are now living a better life using the unique
tech tools ShopUp provides. As the merchants can boost their products through ShopUp at a
cheap rate, reaching customers has become easy and cheaper as well.
The reseller platform of ShopUp is a brilliant approach to the potential entrepreneurs who
want to start a business of their own or already have a business that needs good quality
products. In Bangladesh, there are plenty of sources of products at every corner ready to be
sold, and people who want to start online business too. But doing business online using a
Facebook page suppose, is trickier than running a physical store if proper methods stays
unknown by the owner of that business. The ShopUp Reseller platform enables an
entrepreneur to get hold on thousands of products sourced from different parts of the country
at a reasonable price. There’s a dedicated app for the merchants through which they can get
all the facilities a business owner needs to run his/her business. Already there’s a lot of
success stories and happy business owners who are now living a better life using the unique
tech tools ShopUp provides. As the merchants can boost their products through ShopUp at a
cheap rate, reaching customers has become easy and cheaper as well.
Micro Finance Loan Service
Banks those are operating in Bangladesh offer loan services for entrepreneurs. But for the
online platform, banks tend to be less interested as an online business doesn’t have physical
store. In some cases, there’s absolutely no sign of fixed assets to show. Banks justify if the
person who needs loan will be able to pay back the amount in given time period, they want
statements and other papers for authentications which the entrepreneurs don’t understand thus
fail to provide.

ShopUp is linked with its micro finance partners like BRAC, through which the small
entrepreneurs can apply and get eloans following a few necessary steps. ShopUp has a
dedicated team for eloan service and an “Android App” through which merchants can get
loans through ShopUp. Using the app, applying for loan became easier for anyone who needs
it as there is clear demonstration of what to provide and how the loan will be arranged.
There’s also a dedicate loan calculator with proper statement so that the loan can get a clear
picture of the time frame and the exact amount he/she will have to pay back.

Delivery Service
ShopUp has its own delivery service with dedicated employees who work round the clock to
deliver the products of merchants to the customers. The delivery service supports the
company to provide the overall business solution for the merchants.
Recommendations

There is no doubt that ShopUp is working for a noble cause. The betterment of small
entrepreneurs using the digital media is a bold approach indeed. But the challenge that is
faced, is the fact that most of the customers are not that much tech savvy. A lion’s share of
the clients does not have thee idea about doing business online. Theey don’t know how to
promote a page, how to run an add, how to order etc. They lack the information that reaching
to people has become easier than billboard. As the world is improving in terms of digital
advancement, lives of people must be transformed too to cope with the transformation of our
era. I think the clients should get more training about how they can improve their business
through ShopUp.
Another issue I faced was the bad reputation of their delivery service. Some of their clients
faced a bit bitter experience. As a major tool of any online business, delivery must be top
notch. But as an employee I also figured the fact that the problem is only faced with delivery
outside the capital Dhaka. So, ShopUp should concentrate and monitor the delivery process
outside Dhaka or come up with a better service.
Conclusion
Among all the startups of Bangladesh, thee strategy of ShopUp is unique, as they want to
bring change to the lives of people with less tech and business knowledge by empowering
them through the best technology in such a way that they manage to start their own business.
Each and every day ShopUp brings something new for its customers so they can has some
effect to the venders life and give them a huge support to maintain their business. Almost all
of their activities are based on how they can improve themselves and how to aid the
merchants better. ShopUp arranges training programs for the clients, give them awards and
share authentic success stories to the social media. ShopUp is always planning to be diverse
and change ready, to transform thee lives of people so that everyone can take part in the
financial inclusion.
Reference
1. The linkedIn profle of ShopUp
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopfront-limited/)
2. The website of ShopUp
Link: https://shopup.com.bd/
3. ShopUp: One-stop solution platform for Facebook entrepreneurs ( Syed Samiul Basher Anik
and Mahadi Al Hasnat, 2018); Dhaka Tribune
Link: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2018/05/13/shopup-one-stop-solution-
platform-for-facebook-entrepreneurs
4. Facebook and 3 millennials are changing the start-up scene in Bangladesh (Karen Gilchrist,
2018); CNBC Make it
Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/17/shopup-bangladesh-start-up-uses-facebook-to-help-
micro-entrepreneurs.html