Bangladesh an inspiration to South Asian peers
Bangladesh's incredible economic rise over the years has become a source of inspiration for other south Asian nations as the country has already shown its resilience even amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a time when the global economy is struggling to survive, said Binod Chaudhary, founder of CG Corp Global.
Despite all the bureaucratic and political challenges in South Asia, Bangladesh has had a stunning economic journey.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had even projected that Bangladesh would witness economic growth of 3.8 per cent, the highest among its south Asian peers, during the pandemic time, said Chaudhary, who says that Bangladesh is like a home away from home for him.
Over the last 30 years, Chaudhary has not only made numerous business ties with the country, but a lot of personal relationships as well.
He mentioned one name in particular, being that of the late Latifur Rahman, a noted Bangladeshi business icon and former chairman and CEO of Transcom Group. Chaudhary had worked with Rahman in various capacities across South Asia.
While addressing the 19th edition of the Bangladesh Business Awards ceremony, an initiative of DHL Express and The Daily Star held yesterday, Chaudhury spoke of the severity of the bureaucratic and political challenges of doing business in South Asia.
"If you can do business in South Asia, you can do business anywhere in the world," said Chaudhary, the first Nepalese billionaire.
The Covid-19 fallout has given rise to a number of challenges all over the world, forcing many corporate conglomerates to redefine their traditional day-to-day planning.
It is also reshaping the global economy and remodelling trade, said Chaudhury, who has businesses in 40 countries.
At the same time though, the pandemic has created a lot of business opportunities. The booming e-commerce sector is a glowing example of the opportunities that stem from Covid-19.
So, Bangladesh also has the scope to exploit these opportunities.
For instance, Bangladesh has already become a hub for start-ups, especially in e-commerce, Chaudhury said, citing rising e-commerce companies such as Pathao, Daraz and bKash as prime examples.
During his time as a student, Chaudhury, who was suddenly forced to take over his family's textile business, had praised the rise of Bangladesh's textile and garment industries, which eventually became the second largest supplier worldwide after China over four decades.
Although Nepal and Bangladesh started their textile and garment journeys at the same time, Bangladesh showed its superior strength in the sector through its entrepreneurial resilience and government supports, he said.
Over the four-decade long journey, Bangladesh's garment industry, which accounts for 11 per cent of the country's GDP, is a pioneering business milestone for the country that employs around 4.4 million people.
"With global supply chain value relocating from China to other countries, Bangladesh has a big opportunity to step forward. And such models could be a huge example for south Asian countries like Nepal to develop and accelerate the textile business front," the Nepalese business tycoon said.
It was inspiring to read from various sources that Bangladesh's economy was considered alongside that of China's for the revival of economic growth in Asia, he added.
The IMF indicated that Asia's recovery will be 1.9 per cent from China and 3.9 per cent from Bangladesh. With a GDP per capita income of $5,139, Bangladesh's economy is not just inspiring to South Asians but also to the world in providing economic serenity.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the government of Bangladesh in keeping the pace of economic prosperity towards making South Asia home to the privileged," Chaudhary said.
Bangladesh has maintained an impressive track record on growth and development. In its remarkable journey, Bangladesh's economy and human development went hand in hand with economic growth.
Poverty dropped by nearly a third, coupled with increased life expectancy, literacy and per capita food intake.
Entrepreneurship is all about dreaming, superb courage and doing things differently. The business journey of Chaudhary Group started with a traditional family business that started some 140 years ago.
"Also, the courage it took to build our business around the community and our engagement has been the strong sense of preference. Hence, success is always around social impact. I believe that we are always transitioning in life," he said.
The only way possible to keep moving forward is to have a vision and determine how to reach that vision.
"When I first started, it was not easy to do business in Nepal," said Chaudhury while speaking about his bumpy journey to become a successful business personality in South Asia.
Some of the major hurdles were unclear rules and laws, closed society, strict foreign exchange regulation and strict political regime.
"I still decided to follow my heart and tried to find the solution to each problem and found the legal way of doing international business without violating any laws of the country," he said.
"The journey was tough and although it took me 20 years to establish one particular company, I did not lose hope and was able to accomplish my dream," Chaudhury said, adding that the future will be even brighter.
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