Business Person of the Year
Monem made his highway to fame

Sohel Parvez

Business Person of the Year ABDUL MONEM Chairman of Abdul Monem Ltd

Every cloud has a silver lining. The proverb best fits the rise and shine of today's Abdul Monem, whose businesses generated around Tk 800 crore in turnover in 2008.

He came to Dhaka almost empty-handed in the early 1950s.

A secondary school certificate was his only resort to bet fortune on the streets of the then capital of East Pakistan, Dhaka.

The initial days were hard to survive before he clinched the opportunity to obtain a one-year diploma degree in civil engineering. He stood first in the final exam.

That was the beginning for Monem, who is now the chairman and managing director of Abdul Monem Ltd that has an array of businesses ranging from civil construction to food and beverages, and power to pharmaceutical sectors.

“I got two offers after my result. One was a government job and the other was to be a contractor under a partnership with more than 10 percent as a shareholder,” says Monem, sitting in his ordinarily decorated room at the under-construction 20-storey building, Monem Business District.

“I opted for the second one,” he says.
The business ran well. But seven years later his partner decided to quit.

“It's unexpected to me and my lone journey began with Tk 20,000 in hand,” continues the gray-hair man as he felt quite nostalgic.

The first contract he won was to supply brick for the Ishwardi-Nandail road in Mymensingh. He was able to complete the task by virtue of a Tk 60,000 loan he got from one of his well-wishers, says Monem.

“I made a profit of Tk 120,000,” he says.
Since then Monem never stepped back as his businesses grew on the back of his sincerity and ability to take high risk to accomplish challenging tasks.

The 44-kilometre Khulna-Mongla highway, which was constructed in 1984, is such a risky venture that Monem took and won.

“It's one of the tough tasks I had to go through,” he says, recalling his first visit to the site before starting the construction works.

“We had to leave our jeep in Bagerhat as there was no road communication system. I along with one of my engineers wore lungi and moved inside the low-lying swampy fields to get an idea about the work. I almost lost hope after visiting the site.”

Thanks to a dredging machine that enabled him to build the road over mud and ditch.

The Khulna-Mongla highway is not the only example of gigantic tasks like building dam to change the river flow to save the Dhaleshwari Bridge from tide.

“Allah (God) rescued me in many of the construction works,” he says.

The testimony of Monem Construction could be found in various infrastructure development projects including those aided by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Islamic Development Bank.

Constructions of the four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway, access road to Bangabandhu Bridge over the Jamuna river and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet are the living examples of Abdul Monem.

“Now you will get the touches of my hand in almost all the highways in Bangladesh,” he says.

“Whatever I do, I believe in doing the best,” says Monem, who was awarded gold medal in 2009 by the International Federation of Asian & Western Pacific Contractors' Association.

Indefatigable sprit to grow and become champion has also encouraged Monem to diversify his businesses from construction to beverage.

In 1982 Monem acquired K Rahman & Company and started bottling Coca-Cola beverages.

About the business, he says: “It's a matter of pleasure to be a part of such a prestigious company. Coca-Cola is the global leader in beverage.”

Five years later Monem established a new bottling plant in Comilla and Abdul Monem Ltd (AML) expanded the capacity to help Coca-Cola retain its leadership in the beverage market.

And he got the recognition from Coca-Cola. In 1991 AML was given away the President's Turtle Award by the president of Coca-Cola Company, one of the prestigious awards for bottler from the global soft drink giant.

Along with distributing Coca-Cola products across the country except Dhaka and Rajshahi, AML produces and markets leading Igloo brand ice cream.

AML is also involved in making milk products, agro-processed foods, sugar, pharmaceuticals, power generation and business consultancy with its turnover growing every year.

In eight years to 2008, the turnover of AML, which has nine units including its CSR (corporate social responsibility) wing Abdul Monem Foundation, more than doubled to around Tk 800 crore.

Monem attributes the growth of the company to honesty and sincerity he had shown since the beginning of his business.

“Till date, I have been maintaining my philosophy of doing quality works with honesty. My inspiration was one of my sub-contractors Chan Mia who joined me on the condition that I will never ask him for any unethical acts,” he says.

AML now directly employs 3,000 staffs. Many of the employees have been serving the company since 1970s, as Monem believes in delegation of responsibility and authority to the employees.

The employees are also upbeat about the freedom they enjoy.

“I render my love and affection to my workers, but when necessary I am also strict with them,” says Monem, who works with the employees as a team member.

His relationships with other stakeholders also appear to be good as Monem maintains a good credit record with banks and pays taxes regularly.

As recognition, National Board of Revenue last year gave him the Best Taxpayer Award for longest duration for Dhaka region. In 2007 Jamuna Bank offered him the Business Excellence Award.

Being emerged from grassroots, Monem also feels for the society. And as his company's commitment to the advancement of the society, AML has formed the CSR wing to work especially for the welfare of the poor.

Monem is now 74. But he is still in the driving seat of AML with his insights and faster decision making policies, for which he has succeeded in many difficult jobs.

Above all, as his elder son ASM Mainuddin Monem, also deputy managing director of AML, says: “His life and successes can be embodied in three qualities -- honesty, integrity and commitment.”

Days of informal ways of doing business, as what Monem did, appear to be ending with AML, guided by his sons now, and the company is taking more organised and formal shape.

Monem now looks to his successors to see them taking AML forward in these days of unfolding competition in almost all the sectors.