“I’m Sonam Chophel, founder of Druk Sell – which is the biggest marketplace for goods produced and farmed in Bhutan. Initially, I am artist myself and always wanted to sell some goods but found that Bhutanese markets were really difficult. I, therefore wanted to try something that might open doors, and in Bhutan, I discovered that going digital was one of the only options.

So, I set up with Bhutan’s first internet store. Since the idea of e-commerce was relatively new in Bhutan, I found it quite difficult to persuade people of what they were actually doing. Further, because the technology was new, we faced technical difficulties. And we faced difficulties with the payment system in terms of how to guarantee that we could sell, with a major internal difficulty being a lack of skills.

We really had to focus and develop more skills through training and opportunities alike. We are able to get in touch and understand that there was a lot of skills and knowledge gap that we Bhutanese had to upgrade, he shared.

“Through their training platforms, we are able to firstly upgrade our knowledge in understanding more about international certifications, upgrading our technology around packaging, also understanding how e-commerce is conducted globally,” he added.

From then on, we were able to hone their skills, and perhaps the most significant part of the entire project was that they received hand on training. “We were also able to fully capitalize on the opportunity presented by the country’s lockdown during the pandemic by undergoing a variety of trainings, and I think we are internally ready to take on our next project, which will involve expanding our e-commerce,” he said.

Speaking to entrepreneur magazine, Sonam shared that through this platform has been able to expand his business by increasing sales, connecting with several overseas buyers, and participating in international fairs.

“All of these things have increased visibility and access to a wider range of markets,” he said, adding that moving forward, his goal is to grow and capitalize on the expanding digital trend that is driving e-commerce.

By Rinzin Dema