Session on navigating your business

Communal space in Bangladesh has been an integral element in catalysing collaboration and learning. When diverse minds, irrespective of background and identity, have a space to come together, they explore the right questions, seed new ideas and widen perspectives. Moreover, knowledge is not imparted but rather facilitated. With this in mind, Toru Institute of Inclusive Innovation has created a platform for knowledge sharing through a forum called, ‘Boithok’.

Speakers and participants from multidisciplinary backgrounds attend the discussion sessions. Thought leaders from public, private and civic sectors lead these curated discussions. As we get siloed into our professional and social circles, Boithok is a refreshing chance for the artists to meet scientists, for the academics to meet the musicians and so on.

After a brief hiatus, Boithok returned on January 18, 2019. The session was named ‘Correcting Course’. The concept originated from ships changing direction to navigate correctly after being buffeted by winds or other adversities. Besides community members who responded to the open invitation, this Boithok was attended by the top 15 impactors from early-stage social enterprises. The impactors are undergoing Toru's business incubation programme. The speakers shared their knowledge to help such entrepreneurs who are starting out. The speakers shared their personal journeys of 'correcting course' to get where they are today. Attendants of Boithok had the opportunity to learn from these experiences and mistakes.

Zahid Amin, the director of Tech Services at mPower Social Enterprises Limited and CEO of Chorki Limited, spoke about the importance of being wholeheartedly passionate about the product or service that an entrepreneur chooses to work in. He explained, "If this passion is absent, then one should rethink about that business or idea. Why? Because, the entrepreneurial journey will always have hard times. One reason for such times is usually the difficulty in ensuring cash flow or managing costs. When revenue does not come according to plan, then it's that passion that works to drive the entrepreneur".

Imtiaz Kasem, founder of Smarttech which is one of many ventures that he was involved in over the last 20 years, was a speaker. He drew from his experience of launching ‘Share A Motorbike’, a ride sharing platform that he envisioned long before there were alternatives in the market. His main advice to budding entrepreneurs was to check the regulatory environment first. "Do not expose yourself (your idea) until it is the right time to do it. If your product faces too many regulatory obstacles, it is not the right time." Additionally, he stressed on the importance of building scalable ventures. He reminded the impactors to "do something a little different than what is already out there, make it more scalable. Always think about what is scalable."

Ridwan Hafiz, the founder of Go Zayaan, an online travel platform and Analyzen, the first digital marketing agency in Bangladesh, talked about the early days of Analyzen. A crucial part of Analyzen's success was recognising that the future was online. According to him, "Do something that is the call of the day- being first is important, but being the best is the only option."

The session ended with entrepreneurs asking questions about investment readiness and other issues that come up in running a business.

Boithok is a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals. Boithok fits well into Toru's activities of building an enabling ecosystem for innovators; exposure to new ideas and such discussions remain essential.

The writer obtained Bachelor of Arts in International Political Economy from Colorado College, USA. She can be reached at [email protected]