A Stellar Woman Lighting the way for Women in Tech

Tasfia Tasbin is a shining example of how women can work wonders with technology. Hailing from Barisal, her life had no shortage of hurdles. From a very young age she has witnessed incredible grief and suffering which could have stopped her education, but her teachers and friends immensely helped her. No one expected her to even pass SSC and HSC, yet she excelled and later graduated with a degree in Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering at the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET).

University life really helped Tasfia figure out her strengths and weaknesses. Her immense passion for robotics and AI did not go unnoticed. Students used to come to her for help in various projects, while teachers were glad to have her in their research projects. She even tutored students, and survived based on that small yet significant income, with some money put into savings. Just before graduating in 2017 she got a job as an IoT developer at DataSoft Systems Bangladesh, a renowned software company. She also worked part-time at the ICT Division's a2i (Aspire to Innovate) platform, simultaneously handling various technical and managerial responsibilities. She provided backend support to government websites and supported their system architecture. Her immense hard work and ability to learn quickly were key in all her accomplishments so far.

While things may have been going well career-wise, things were not so good at home for Tasfia. Her grandmother died, and soon she and her sister had to somehow fend for themselves. She then took the difficult decision to give up her fully-funded PhD program abroad in order to take care of her school-going sister. She also took a very risky career move at that time. Leaving behind her jobs at Datasoft and a2i, she joined a friend's startup company, Gaze as technical manager on zero salary with little savings. Her decision was based on the strong belief that one day AI will be a lucrative field and she was keen to be a part of that journey. Gaze helped her understand the inner workings of a startup company. She quickly adapted to the fast-paced working environment and was soon coordinating stakeholders and developers. This way she was able to grasp both the business side and technical aspects of running a startup software company. She then became Head of Operations at Gaze. During her time at Gaze she started to provide free consultancy services to many renowned companies and organizations, such as Magnito Digital, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Skitto, MGI and Praava Health, etc. At DMP, she was lovingly called 'IT Apa', owing to her passion for all things tech. Her consultancy services were enjoying a rising demand.

Her success in consultancy led Tasfia to realize she wanted to do something on her own at that point. She noticed an opportunity that turned her life around. Small-to-medium businesses could not afford third-party digital marketing services from large agencies, nor did they have the time and money to do it on their own. This is especially true for female entrepreneurs with small online businesses, who also lack support from family and society. She then decided to help these businesses by starting her own venture. She quit Gaze and decided to co-found Markopolo.ai with her friend Rubaiyat. The company was launched at Product Hunt amidst the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Markopolo.ai is named after the famous merchant and traveler Marco Polo, with the word 'Mark' being a short form of the word 'marketing'.  It provides B2B automated digital marketing solutions using a language-based AI model. Tasfia worked every minute to realize her dream, including during her pregnancy and even until the delivery of her baby. She currently serves as CEO at Markopolo.ai while Rubaiyat serves as the COO.

What makes Tasfia's venture different from others? For starters, Markopolo.ai's services are much more data-driven and automated, offering customized digital marketing solutions to businesses struggling to increase their brand reach and awareness. Since an AI is offering digital marketing support, the process is more efficient, targeted, quick, and cost-saving. It is offering high-quality services at affordable prices. Markopolo.ai has received funding support from DEKKO-ISHO Group, Startup Bangladesh Ltd, Accelerating Asia, as well as Bangladesh Angels.

Tasfia feels proud about the fact that Markopolo.ai was created completely from scratch in Bangladesh, solely by Bangladeshi developers. We see made-in-Bangladesh garments products from time to time, but this is the first time a fully Bangladeshi tech company with Bangladeshi developers, headed by a woman, is making waves at home and abroad. Tasfia's goal is to reach 1 million users in Bangladesh and achieve unicorn status. She has already collaborated with bkash to help small businesses in payment suggestions. Markopolo.ai is all set to launch their digital marketing services through mobile apps.

Tasfia believes this recognition will shine a light on the gender gap issue in the technology sector, and encourage more women to actively pursue careers in technology who are inspired by her.

Through the Stellar Woman platform, Tasfia hopes to expand her work and support more female-led businesses in Bangladesh. Building Technology & Ideas Ltd. (bti) and The Daily Star wishes her all the best in her endeavors, and vows to support her in attaining maximum audience reach to fulfill her ambitions.