Inception Workshop Held for BTP E-Learning Module Development
Inception Workshop on Developing E-Learning Modules through the Bangladesh Trade Portal (BTP)
An Inception Workshop on "Developing E-Learning Modules through the Bangladesh Trade Portal (BTP)" was held on 28 September 2026 at the ATM Shamsul Haque Auditorium, CIRDAP. TRACE Consulting CEO Fuad M. Khalid Hossen delivered the keynote presentation. The assignment falls under Package SD-59 of the World Bank-financed Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project-1 (BRCP-1) of the Ministry of Commerce. Orangebd is the lead firm, with TRACE Consulting as sub-consultant. Shaila Yasmin, Joint Secretary and Project Director (Additional Charge), BRCP-1, chaired the session. Representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industries, the ICT Division, NBR, BSTI, BFSA, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Livestock Services, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute, DCCI, and other trade bodies took part.
The initiative will create more than 20 bilingual, interactive e-learning modules on the BTP. They will cover WTO agreements, trade policies and laws, import-export procedures, trade compliance, and good practices such as risk-based compliance, Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status, and Advance Rulings. In his keynote, the CEO said many trade facilitation reforms already exist but go unused because businesses are not aware of them. Only around 20 Bangladeshi companies hold AEO status, compared with about 4,500 in India. According to NBR's latest Time Release Study, average clearance time is still over 11 days. The platform aims to close this gap by guiding traders step by step through risk-based clearance under the new Import Policy Order, AEO certification, Advance Rulings, SPS and TBT compliance, and export diversification beyond RMG as Bangladesh approaches LDC graduation.
The assignment has special significance for TRACE. In 2014, the CEO worked with the Ministry of Commerce to build the Bangladesh Trade Portal from scratch under an IFC–World Bank Group project, and he stayed involved with the platform until 2017. Twelve years later, contributing to its next chapter reinforces TRACE's commitment to building trade capability among traders, regulators, and SMEs across Bangladesh.