Bangladesh Entrepreneurship
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Mamun Rashid
I have been offering courses on `Entrepreneurship' in various business schools for last several years. When I ask my students to point out number one barrier towards entrepreneurship, most of them at the beginning of the session would loudly answer, it is non-availability of financing or inadequate financing. Surprisingly at the end of the session, all of them again loudly say, it is not money but an innovative idea that what makes an entrepreneur. Added to this, are, of course, hard work, sincerity and ability to go beyond the box. An entrepreneur is a person who transforms his innovative ideas into reality. However, not everyone can be a successful entrepreneur. Many times crises or critical junctures helped creation of entrepreneurs and also break them. Entrepreneurs are expected to have burning 'passion in heart', 'fire in the belly' and strong dedication to what they do. The entrepreneurs have to take up the role of transformational leadership to successfully move forward with the changing environment or shifting market realities. The process of achieving the desired goal is extremely tough and, most of the time, solitary. There will be uncountable obstacles and those cannot be overcome without strong desire and a good plan. During difficult times, the entrepreneurs become impatient which is both good and bad. Good, because it shows their passion to succeed; and bad, because they may lose hope and step back. It is up to them to keep a cool head and a have clear vision, and fulfill their goal. The initial challenge faced by the entrepreneurs is finding investment for the business. If the business plan is not convincing enough, the investors will not be willing to invest in the business. Although we have developed fairly in terms of infrastructure and technological support systems, we still have room for improvement in this area. In Bangladesh, the scenario is no different. Almost none of the successful businessmen in Bangladesh were born with golden spoons. Most of them organized their initial capital from friends and family sources, either sales proceeds of mother's jewellery or father's pension money. And then it was all about hard work, ability to stand up during crisis and network with the right people to share their sorrows and agony as well as help them to come out of distress. I have heard about Shamson H Chowdury from Square, Fazlur Rahman from City group, AK Azad from Hameem group, Annisul Haque from Mohammadi group, Sufi Mizanur Rahman from PHP group and Abul Kasem from Abul Khair Group in Chittagong or even Geeti Ara Safia Chowdhury from Adcomm and many of their colleagues. For none of them, the journey was safe and sweet ones. Gradually they developed better differentiation strategy and funds management skills, taking help from right people and even the best use of their connections or lobbying. Story is little tougher for the small and medium entrepreneurs, where personal safety and security is also a major issue along with others like what business they should be in, where to put up the business, how to recruit right people and where to get the money (be it equity or working capital) from'. For the ladies, the journey was much tougher, if not the toughest. Women from all classes of Bangladesh are standing up before everyone in their own right and not just as someone's daughter or wife. Women can be a very caring homemaker, but at the same time she can prove to be a highly skilled entrepreneur andor an efficient employee, if they choose to be. An example of a woman entrepreneur is Bibi Russell. In 1994, she opened Bibi Productions, her own fashion house. With assistance from UNESCO, she organized her first European fashion show in Paris in 1996. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh. Another example can be Farzana Shakil
I have been offering courses on `Entrepreneurship' in various business schools for last several years. When I ask my students to point out number one barrier towards entrepreneurship, most of them at the beginning of the session would loudly answer, it is non-availability of financing or inadequate financing. Surprisingly at the end of the session, all of them again loudly say, it is not money but an innovative idea that what makes an entrepreneur. Added to this, are, of course, hard work, sincerity and ability to go beyond the box. An entrepreneur is a person who transforms his innovative ideas into reality. However, not everyone can be a successful entrepreneur. Many times crises or critical junctures helped creation of entrepreneurs and also break them. Entrepreneurs are expected to have burning 'passion in heart', 'fire in the belly' and strong dedication to what they do. The entrepreneurs have to take up the role of transformational leadership to successfully move forward with the changing environment or shifting market realities. The process of achieving the desired goal is extremely tough and, most of the time, solitary. There will be uncountable obstacles and those cannot be overcome without strong desire and a good plan. During difficult times, the entrepreneurs become impatient which is both good and bad. Good, because it shows their passion to succeed; and bad, because they may lose hope and step back. It is up to them to keep a cool head and a have clear vision, and fulfill their goal. The initial challenge faced by the entrepreneurs is finding investment for the business. If the business plan is not convincing enough, the investors will not be willing to invest in the business. Although we have developed fairly in terms of infrastructure and technological support systems, we still have room for improvement in this area. In Bangladesh, the scenario is no different. Almost none of the successful businessmen in Bangladesh were born with golden spoons. Most of them organized their initial capital from friends and family sources, either sales proceeds of mother's jewellery or father's pension money. And then it was all about hard work, ability to stand up during crisis and network with the right people to share their sorrows and agony as well as help them to come out of distress. I have heard about Shamson H Chowdury from Square, Fazlur Rahman from City group, AK Azad from Hameem group, Annisul Haque from Mohammadi group, Sufi Mizanur Rahman from PHP group and Abul Kasem from Abul Khair Group in Chittagong or even Geeti Ara Safia Chowdhury from Adcomm and many of their colleagues. For none of them, the journey was safe and sweet ones. Gradually they developed better differentiation strategy and funds management skills, taking help from right people and even the best use of their connections or lobbying. Story is little tougher for the small and medium entrepreneurs, where personal safety and security is also a major issue along with others like what business they should be in, where to put up the business, how to recruit right people and where to get the money (be it equity or working capital) from'. For the ladies, the journey was much tougher, if not the toughest. Women from all classes of Bangladesh are standing up before everyone in their own right and not just as someone's daughter or wife. Women can be a very caring homemaker, but at the same time she can prove to be a highly skilled entrepreneur andor an efficient employee, if they choose to be. An example of a woman entrepreneur is Bibi Russell. In 1994, she opened Bibi Productions, her own fashion house. With assistance from UNESCO, she organized her first European fashion show in Paris in 1996. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh. Another example can be Farzana Shakil