Sarah Siddiqi
CEO &Co-Founder of www.experiencebangladesh.com
She grew up in the sandy dessert of Kuwait. Went to a catholic school run by Indian nuns. Spent her days painting and dreaming with her eyes shut. Little did she know that 30 years later, she would be intoxicated by a tropical land that she visited over summers and be obsessed with creating experiences for people around the world and would be selling her soul to putting Bangladesh on the map, as a land of Innovation.
In 2007, she started dreaming with her eyes open and it gave birth to a vision called Experience Bangladesh. She drew from her decade of work in non-profit and education in Environmental Sciences, Fine Arts and Entrepreneurship from University of Texas at Austin and Acton School of Business. She spent every waking hour learning about the people, the terrain, how the wind blows and what stories they bring her.
International travel industry is currently a $1.1 trillion dollars business in 2012. Emerging markets in Asia (according to IPK Travel reports) will draw 2/3rds of this revenue. Factors like the rising Asian middle class, Asian's low cost airline options and countries like Vietnam attracting5 million visitors a year, positions Bangladesh in the forefront to potentially bring in millions of dollars into the country.
Today Experience Bangladesh is one of most well known brands in the travel industryin Bangladesh that cater to global travelers - with custom research and logistics, create and manage travel in Bangladesh so that they have the best experiences through the people, business contacts, global education, leisure and special interest trips.
Her teams' research and views on tourism for Bangladesh fuels them to promote the country as a destination for innovation, and sustainability in the world. “It's a great time to be Bangladesh as the world powers and economies are shifting to emerging markets in Asia. There is so much entrepreneurial activity here; it's like walking into a chocolate factory. “
As for travelers looking for authentic experiences, it doesn't get anymore authentic than mustard breaking in the field, mud fishing with children, spending a night in a mango orchard and listening to live Baulmusic. “Sustainable tourism is the only philosophy to live by, in the travel industry. We have to take very good care of the people we interact with, the communities and the environment so that we actually have something to share and go back to for a long, long time“, says Sarah.
Compiled by Star Correspondent
Tamara H. Abed
Director of Aarong & Brac Dairy
A member of the senior management team at BRAC, Tamara H. Abed is considered a trendsetter in the business world of Bangladesh. Following her MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a BSC in Economics from the London School of Economics, Tamara began her career in Peregrine Capital Ltd in Dhaka as an investment banker. She has also worked in Goldman Sachs and has been in the business sector for almost 15 years.
Tamara is widely credited for the massive increase in revenue of Aarong, one of the most profitable social enterprises of BRAC, an enterprise that she has been involved with since 2002 and heading since 2005. She is known for introducing a new brand of women's wear titled 'Taaga', a style that gained popularity amongst the younger generation of the country and forced competitors in the market to follow a similar strategy. She has also represented Bangladesh globally and has often represented young women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh. It was therefore not a surprise when she was honoured by the World Economic Forum as a 'Young Global Leader' in 2010. She also represented Bangladesh during the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington in 2010, where she was greeted by US President Barack Obama.
Apart from Aarong she also heads BRAC Dairy, one of the largest Dairy operations of the country. The organisation aims to protect cattle rearers from being exploited by providing them with a value-based linkage to the market. Thus, she has consistently represented the grassroots of the country both locally and internationally.
Tamara has been serving on the Board of Directors of BRAC Bank since 2008 and is on the Board of Trustees of BRAC University.
With a series of achievements in a short span of time, Tamara H. Abed has not only managed to provide unique features to the Bangladeshi market but has also proved to be an inspiration for the young entrepreneurs of the country.
Compiled by Star Correspondent
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury
Deputy Managing Director of Pran-RFL Group
What began as a retired army general's second career has expanded into one of Bangladesh's most famous brands, Pran-RFL Group, which exports to 77 countries. His son, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, in the role of Deputy Managing Director, has been leading PRAN into its future with the global market.
“PRAN, which is the first Bangladeshi company to invest in India, has also sought approval from Bangladesh Bank to invest in India,” Chowdhury said in a press conference announcing PRAN's plans. The food processing and manufacturing firm, which employs 30,000 people and works with 60,000 farmers, will set up agro and food processing plants in Tripura, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
“I think that (investing in India) will make Bangladeshi consumers, Bangladeshi citizens, truly proud that a Bangladeshi company has gone into India,” says the deputy managing director in a corporate film.
“We've got a long way to go,” says Chowdhury, who joined the company in 1993 after studying business abroad. “We've tried to make PRAN-RFL Group a very strong global company. Hopefully, we'll start manufacturing some of our PRAN products in our neighbouring country and hopefully we'll go beyond the borders of Bangladesh and make our products available for Indian consumers.”
Chowdhury also says, “For RFL's case, I believe we've been very active in selling our plastic products to households of this country. We are also trying to work hard to get into the European Union and hopefully we'll be making our plastic products available in the global market.” He adds, “It's a challenging market but I believe with our experience of the last 30 years, we are extremely capable, extremely competent and extremely committed to getting into the global market.”
Compiled by Star Correspondent