In an interesting move, the US-Bangla Group, a leader in Bangladesh’s aviation industry, has entered into the country’s rapidly growing digital economy. The conglomerate, best known for its flagship airline, US-Bangla Airlines, has launched a suite of online platforms across digital markets including e-commerce, food delivery, and travel markets.
US-Bangla Group, while mostly known for its aviation business, has businesses in real estate, leather, education, footwear, medical, and logistics. The move to enter the digital commerce space marks a significant diversification for the group and signals a strategic shift and a willingness to diversify beyond its existing businesses.
The new digital ventures—First Trip B2C, an all-in-one online travel platform; Cartup.com, an e-commerce marketplace; Foodi, a food delivery service; and Take Trip Limited, a travel agency targeting the B2B market— are all somewhat interconnected and hint that these are designed to create an integrated ecosystem that caters to the evolving needs of Bangladeshi consumers.
Today, there is a solid thesis for entering Bangladesh’s digital economy. The digital landscape has transformed over the last two decades. There is a meaningful market opportunity. Important digital economy metrics such as mobile and internet penetration, and awareness about and adoption of digital services have grown meaningfully. A growing number of people are now ordering food and shopping clothes online today. Digital services across the spectrum have gained a certain familiarity.
Despite the relative market maturity, the growth for digital players across digital commerce verticals remains somewhat lackluster and urban-centric. This offers significant opportunities for any player with strong execution muscle and deep pockets.
However, the market also poses significant challenges in terms of competition and a rapidly evolving market. The challenges are likely to exacerbate due to the number of ventures the group has launched at once. How it navigates these challenges will ultimately determine its future. More on that in a moment.
First, let’s take a look at the group’s four new initiatives.
US-Bangla Group has launched at least four digital ventures across ecommerce, food delivery, and travel. Let’s take a brief look at each of them.
First Trip B2C, the group’s all-in-one travel platform, is one of its initiatives at the forefront of this expansion. The platform offers flight bookings, hotel reservations, visa processing, holiday packages, and Umrah packages. With a user-friendly interface, real-time updates, and secure payment options, First Trip aims to simplify travel planning for millions of Bangladeshis. First Trip B2C platform was launched at the Dhaka Travel Mart 2025 after two years of operating in the B2B sector.
Meanwhile, Cartup.com, the group’s e-commerce marketplace, is set to officially launch on February 12, 2025. The platform promises competitive pricing, authentic products, and reliable delivery services across categories like electronics, fashion, home appliances, and groceries. Cartup’s locally developed app and website, coupled with an extensive logistics network, aim to challenge established players in Bangladesh’s fast growing e-commerce space.
In the food delivery sector, Foodi has already made significant strides since its launch in June 2024. Operating in multiple cities with a network of over 4,000 restaurant and shop partners, Foodi offers 24-hour delivery in key areas of Dhaka, along with dine-in, pick-up, and even flower delivery options.
Rounding out the portfolio is Take Trip Limited, a B2B travel agency designed to support travel entrepreneurs with technical expertise, group ticketing, and customized holiday packages. Led by industry veterans, Take Trip aims to empower small and medium-sized travel businesses with tools and resources to thrive in a competitive market.
The thesis behind launching several ventures all at once or close proximity is not hard to guess. US-Bangla Group as a company enjoys certain market power and the company aims to leverage it. Additionally, launching as many as four businesses across three different verticals indicates that the company anticipates certain advantages in building these services at once rather than sequentially. The company perhaps anticipates certain synergy between its platforms where it can leverage customer data to personalize offers, optimize logistics, create a seamless user experience across services, cross-promote, and accelerate learning.
For instance, it makes sense, to some extent, for US-Bangla to enter the online travel-tech market since it owns an airline and has been operating in the space for a long time. It certainly helps that it has deep expertise in the market and also synergy with its airline business. However, it can also create a conflict of interest if not managed independently with both ends of its travel services business such as OTAs on the one side and airlines on the other. Similarly, its foray into ecommerce and food delivery all at once also raises strategic questions.
To that end, the US-Bangla Group’s foray into digital markets is not without its risks. The e-commerce and food delivery sectors in Bangladesh are already dominated by established players, making differentiation critical. Managing multiple digital platforms requires significant investment, technical expertise, and efficient operations. Ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction across all services will be crucial for long-term success.
Of course, the company enjoys certain strategic advantages. As we mentioned, the well-established brand of US-Bangla Airlines provides an advantage of trust and recognition for new digital ventures. As noted above, the various platforms can cross-promote each other, potentially reducing customer acquisition costs and creating a more integrated user experience. The operation of multiple platforms allows for the collection of significant data on customer preferences, enabling personalized offers and improved service. There is potential for optimizing logistics across its food delivery and e-commerce services, which will enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
However, maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction across all platforms is essential for long-term success and customer loyalty, which is not easy when you are doing several things at once. Similarly, while it may appear that multiple businesses at once can offer significant benefits in terms of strategic alignment, resource sharing, and learning, seamlessly integrating diverse businesses is complex and it dilutes your focus that can be costly for a business.
The company is trying to find sustainable competitive advantages. For instance, it is trying to develop a localized approach, focusing on developing platforms in Bangladesh and aiming to cater specifically to the needs of local consumers. This includes a focus on competitive pricing, authentic products, and efficient delivery, particularly within the e-commerce and food delivery spaces.
US-Bangla Group’s ambitious expansion signals its aspiration to become a major player in Bangladesh’s fast-growing digital economy. By extending its reach beyond aviation, the group is positioning itself to capture a larger share of consumer spending in the country’s rapidly evolving digital economy. However, success will hinge on the group’s ability to execute effectively, navigate competitive markets, and play the long game. The entry of the US-Bangla Group into this market has certainly created some meaningful movements in the segment after a while, we’ll be closely following what the company does next.
