Celebrating our inspirers
A very special award
Ever since 2017 we, in collaboration with IPDC, have had the honour of introducing a very special kind of award titled “Unsung Women Nation Builders”.
Outstanding Woman in Business
In this section of “Inspirers” we catalogue outstanding women leaders in our corporate world who broke into, what was mainly men’s domain, and established themselves as “women entrepreneurs” of merit, vision, courage, and reliability.
Business Person of the Year
Every nation needs INSPIRERS – people who, through their vision, self-belief, leadership, and hard work bring about changes that nobody thought would be possible. They change what most people take to be unchangeable reality and create potential where none thought existed.
Editor’s note
We strongly believe that those who break new grounds, take our ambition to higher levels, and open up new frontiers of success in our “Business World” collectively inspire the entire nation to move forward and deserve to be given special recognition.
In with the new: Lifestyle Chronicles
Fast and slow fashion: What makes slow fashion work
The young are the typification of what’s new and trending in the fast fashion world now. They are colourful and up-to-date on the latest fashion craze. They go to markets with pictures of the latest blockbuster and they buy the most trending Bollywood-inspired shalwar kameez or lehengas.
Cashless is the future
The food delivery man rings the doorbell. “Apa, here’s the naga momo that you ordered.” A bit muffled and more so happy that something appetising has been ordered by the teen in the house,
Can local cosmetics edge out the global competitors?
Cosmetics and toiletries have long been in demand. People of both genders now prioritise self-grooming.
Homecooked meals: Why they make sense in today’s society
The argument for home cooking is perhaps one of the most observable phenomena of modern middle-class lives, which just keep getting busier. Many of us can still recall childhoods when anything from the store or bakery was quite a treat.
Dhaka’s lively bakery scene
As a city, Dhaka is rich in terms of culture and tradition, and what forms a big part of our heritage is the food we have carried down from generation to generation.
Embracing the slow fashion movement: In conversation with Silmat Chisti
Slow fashion, as the definition roughly entails, is couture that is hand-spun and has its roots steeped in tradition, and is focused on sustainable and ethical productions. The Daily Star recently spoke to Silmat Chisti, Founder, NOBO Designs Pvt Ltd, also MD, Bangladesh SME Corporation Ltd. She shed some light on the Slow Fashion movement in Bangladesh.
Dhaka’s open mic scene: A platform for emerging artists to shine
Dhaka’s open mic scene has evolved over the years, from humble beginnings to now being a platform for performers to highlight their talent and make a breakthrough in the industry.
Sari - The changing tale of draping
In the current fashion world, the sari, a traditional female garment of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka is all the rage.
Where Showbiz meets the Internet
Could the internet help evolve our entertainment industry?
Radio, theatre, television, film and OTT are now considered to be the five-primary mediums of audiovisual entertainment.
Bite-sized videos the future of Showbiz?
It is indeed a fast-paced world we live in, evident by our incessant need for instant gratification in every aspect of our lives.
The rise of Chorki
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to adapt to the ‘new normal’, the entertainment industry experienced a breath of fresh air when Chorki, one of the most promising over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms of recent times, began its journey on July 12, 2021.
Is corporate involvement enriching our music?
While many old songs are being lost due to a poor archiving system, corporations like IPDC, Square, and Coca-Cola are working tirelessly to archive old Bangla songs and present it with a modern twist for the young generation
Does AI put artists in danger?
In recent times, developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have taken the world by storm. Deepfakes, DALL-E 2, ChatGPT, and all their various spin-offs have paved the way for various debates regarding the ethics, possibilities, and eventual future of AI
Television’s transformation for survival
Burdened with competition from digital platforms, the television industry is dipping its toes into digitalisation as well, with many networks planning to launch their own streaming platforms and news sites.
How entertainment revolutionised brand marketing
“Deshi Nagad ey Beshi Labh” or “Payment diben bKashe”
The changing middle-class story
The job market for fresh university graduates
The job market in any field has always been competitive.
Children’s mental well-being: A practice in empathy and care
The relationship between children’s mental health and their overall quality of life is heavily interconnected as it influences their academic performance, interpersonal relationships, and even physical health.
Seeking treatment: Choosing between foreign and local healthcare facilities
Every year, thousands of Bangladeshi patients travel abroad in search of better medical treatment despite the availability of similar services within the country.
Young entrepreneurs in agriculture: The new driving force
Agriculture accounts for approximately 13.6 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP and employs more than 40.6 per cent of the labour force. As technology advances, so do agricultural applications, ushering in a new era of industrial upheaval.
Caring for the terminally ill: Palliative and hospice care
Palliative and hospice care were introduced in the western medical field decades ago. In Bangladesh, the concept is new, and lacks proper research and resources.
Editor’s note
The previous years have seen the Bangladeshi middle-class plunge into unforeseen difficulties. The fallout of a global pandemic, coupled with a raging war in Europe has created an economic slowdown that affects the life of an average Bangladeshi in more ways than one.
Innovation in education
Education is an ever-evolving pursuit. Both in terms of delivery and reception, the content and the mode of learning must continue to be re-imagined in order to fit the needs of the students.
Inflation and its effect on the livelihood of middle-class families
The middle class in Bangladesh is facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis that is making it increasingly difficult to survive.
Towards a smart Bangladesh
Staying on top of the 4IR at the policy level
Bangladesh is poised to join the ranks of middle-income countries in 2026, and industrial growth will form the backbone of our economy as we make this transition.
How can we become an attractive investment destination?
Economic growth and business development are highly dependent on the business climate created by socio-economic policies and political decisions of governments.
Surviving the energy crisis
Energy crises are not rare, but a crisis of this magnitude that tends to derail world economic progress is.
Education and growth: Are we asking the right questions?
Economists and policymakers, influenced by economists, tend to look at education as a homogeneous and highly aggregated category.
Lessons for Bangladesh as a graduating LDC
As per the decision of the UN General Assembly held in November 2021, Bangladesh is set to graduate out of the group of least developed countries (LDCs) on November 24, 2026, about 50 years after it first became a member of this cohort of developing countries in December 1975.
Why Bangladesh Bank needs to be fully independent
If you ask someone from a country with a decent economy whether the central bank should be allowed to exercise independence in its policymaking, they will say that not giving independence to the central bank is like letting someone drive a car while keeping their hands tied behind their back. The question is not why, but how to give more independence to the institution.
Bangladesh’s key role in combatting climate change
As we enter the third year of this decade, we have only seven more years until 2030 to tackle the major global problems of climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Nature-based solutions can fight two key battles together
In the last two months of 2022, two large global events took place on two continents flanking the Atlantic Ocean. In November, around 35,000 people met at the Egyptian tourist city of Sharm El-Sheikh for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).
