Business person of the year: AKM Mosharraf Hussain

Veteran businessman AKM Mosharraf Hussain is the managing director of leading garment exporter Standard Group.

The business tycoon who began his journey as an engineer now runs an empire of a workforce of nearly 50,000 people.

Born in a river erosion-prone village in Sirajganj in 1942, Hussain was a brilliant student.

He studied both mathematics and biology in intermediate class and later got admitted to Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1963 in the civil engineering department. 

After his graduation, he partnered with his civil engineer friend Atiqur Rahman to start a construction business in 1969, which mainly hired victims of river erosion from their village, thus giving the downtrodden people opportunities to rebuild their life.  

In 1976, they ventured into the labour-intensive garment sector which had a huge export potential then and started making formal shirts for the US market in a factory in Dhaka. 

Standard Group now has 20 factories that produce woven shirts, trousers, jackets, sweaters, and accessories for European and US customers, with an annual export value of nearly $500 million. 

The group produces quality and price-competitive readymade garments for global retail brands such as Asda, Gap, Uniqlo, and Tommy Hilfiger.

The group follows strict legal and safety compliances set by the government and the customers.

It also runs various corporate social responsibility activities such as providing mosquito nets, skills training, financial services, educational loans, medical loans, and warm clothing to its employees and the community.

Hussain also diversified his business into education, banking and insurance sectors, as he is the chairman of International Standard University and a director of Jamuna Bank Ltd.

His three sons and two daughters of his friend are on the board of directors of the company, preparing to become the second generation of their family to take over the business.