M. Anis Ud Dowla: A Tale of Passion, Dedication, and Success

M. Anis Ud Dowla, one of the eminent industrialists and business leaders of the country, started his career with the "British Oxygen" group. His 27-year tenure in the British multinational took him to various parts of the world leading different subsidiaries of the company. When he returned to Bangladesh, he joined Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), another British multinational. In 1992, ICI divested its shareholding through management buy out and Mr. Dowla took the leadership of the company as a majority shareholder and changed the name of ICI to Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI). Since then, he has been leading ACI, which is currently one of the largest conglomerates of Bangladesh. A company, which started with 230 employees, is now the source of employment for 15000+ people.

In the third episode of Preronar Kotha, Mr. M. Anis Ud Dowla, Chairman of ACI Group talked about his childhood, his professional life and the opportunity to start ACI, how it has become a brand in every family, and about various aspects of industry and commerce in Bangladesh.

M. Anis Ud Dowla grew up in a disciplined environment. While reminiscing his childhood, he said, "Everyday, we had to return home before sunset so that we could say our prayers together with our father. He taught us to speak in English and inspired us to listen to BBC, so that we could fit into any society in future."

A scholarship from Asia Foundation turned things around for this veteran entrepreneur. Upon completion of his studies in Physics from University of Dhaka, he went to Karachi University to complete his Masters in Public Administration with a scholarship from Asia Foundation. After graduation, he started his career at British Oxygen Group (then Pakistan Oxygen) as Assistant Sales Manager in Chattagram. For the next 27 years, he served as a skilled professional for British Oxygen in and out of the country, becoming the first Bangladeshi Managing Director of Oxygen Group in the process. In 1987, he left Oxygen Group to join ICI PLC as the Managing Director for its Bangladesh operations.

He also discussed his work ideals in both his career and business. He always focused on the fundamental and technical sides of things he worked on. He always wanted to be the most knowledgeable person regarding the products in the office, something that he thinks helped him a lot during his time in British Oxygen. He always loved his work wherever he went. He saw every role he had from the perspective of an entrepreneur, even when he was not one.

The versatile industrialist said that the population of Bangladesh is an asset. As GDP increases, so will the purchasing power of the vibrant middle class and then fulfilling the demand of that large market will be a huge opportunity.

Towards the youth, M. Anis Ud Dowla said, "Everyone has something that they love and is good at. You have to figure out what you are good at. Success will definitely come if you constantly pursue your dream." He is amazed with the brilliance of the Bangladeshi youth. While conversing on this topic, he cited the RMG sector of Bangladesh as an example. When they saw promise in this sector, the young entrepreneurs of the country focused on driving it and today Bangladesh is the second largest RMG exporter of the world.

This learned business leader sees failure as a learning step. He believes that there will always be failures, what matters is how one views it. It is important to improve oneself through a constant feedback mechanism. He stated that he never does the same thing twice in the same way, and always leaves room for improvement.

Mr. Dowla emphasized that our youth is lucky to have the Liberation War as a source of inspiration. "Very rarely does a country's youth get this strong an inspiration. The youth of our country have got tremendous inspiration. They need to use this inspiration and work towards building the nation. Nothing is impossible and sky is the limit", he added.

A stalwart champion for professional ethics, Mr. Dowla does not believe in shortcuts. "Honesty pays. Integrity is very important. People should practice these qualities for their individual growth and development". He thinks that people who make an honest living by working hard and not taking any shortcut are loved by everyone for their nation building activities.

M. Anis Ud Dowla believes that Bangladesh is a land of possibilities. Every human being in this country is an asset. The youth will take this nation to greater heights of prosperity and success will definitely come as long as quality of business is not compromised.

The interview was conducted by Dr. Melita Mehjabeen, Associate Professor, IBA, University of Dhaka as part of "Preronar Kotha", an initiative by Prerona Foundation. You can watch the full interview on the YouTube channel of Prerona Foundation.

You can watch the full interview on the YouTube channel of Prerona Foundation.