Utilise talent to become entrepreneurs

Speakers at a programme called on the brightest youths of the country to utilise their talent in establishing enterprises on their own instead of only running after jobs.
They advised the youths to take advantage of the country's booming economy to pursue their dreams as an array of opportunities await them in the coming days.
The call came at the finale of 'Agragami 2017', a youth leadership development event under the Youth Development Programme of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), at the International Convention City Bashundhara in the city on Sunday night.
The event was jointly arranged by MCCI, Common Purpose, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Grey Advertising Bangladesh Ltd.
BRAC Chairman Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin, former president of Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF) Laila Rahman Kabir, ACI Limited Chairman M Anis Ud Dowla, former MCCI president and Apex Footwear Ltd Managing Director Nasim Manzur and Grey Advertising Bangladesh Managing Partner & Country Head Syed Gousul Alam Shaon attended the programme presided over by MCCI President Nihad Kabir.
Speaking at the event, Mr Abed said the country has made a lot of progress in the last 47 years since independence -- the GDP was $4.5 billion in 1971, which is now over $250 billion, life expectancy increased to 72 years from 46 years, literacy rate jumped to 73 per cent from 25 per cent and fertility rate came down to 2.1 now from 6.4 children per mother.
Mr Abed said, "People from all walks of life contributed to the development of the country over the years. Now it's your (youths) time to serve the country."
Delivering the welcome speech, MCCI President Nihad Kabir said every year nearly two or three million youths enter the country's job market; but when it comes to recruitment by big companies or corporate houses, a mismatch is observed as many of the youths can't meet the requirements of the recruiters.
Mentioning that the recruiters have been observing a disconnection of the job seekers with the overall situation in the country, she said the gap of knowledge of the country and its people that exist among the youths can be reduced through leadership and skills development programmes.
"Besides, our brightest students and youths shouldn't only seek jobs, they should work on unique ideas using their talent to shape their own venture," she said.
She said foreigners, especially from neighbouring India and Sri Lanka, working in mid-level management positions in different industries in the country remit around US$ 6.5 billion from Bangladesh every year.
"We hope that our girls and boys will hold these mid-level positions in coming years and the MCCI has taken up the 'Agragami' programme targeting these youths," she added.
Addressing the youths at the programme, Nasim Manzur said persons like Sir Fazle Hasan Abed and Mohammed Farashuddin could live a different life abroad but they dedicated their whole life to the development of the country.
"So, don't give up on your country; Bangladesh is yours to make and ours to support your journey," he added.
Students from 13 universities and medical colleges - both public and private -took part in the preliminary competition, from which eight groups were formed comprising eight students from different institutions.
A four-day leadership programme was arranged aimed at giving these groups of student access to leaders and organisations in Dhaka city.
The event focused on helping them understand their context and explore their key leadership skills for solving different challenges of Dhaka city in a better way.
The eight groups worked and generated ideas on eight separate challenges of the city to find out 'How to make Dhaka a smart and inclusive city'.
Participants later presented their ideas, among which the best four ideas were selected for final run covering the areas -- Traffic Congestion, Electronic Waste Management, Improved Sanitation for Women and Persons with Disabilities, and Employment for Persons with Disabilities.
The Team Seven became champion and the Team Five became runner-up.

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