Rise of an apparel mogul

I enjoy my job very much as the group came to this position from almost scratch through a struggle.

Even in 1994, DBL Group, a leading garment exporter, was struggling to survive with less than 300 workers and a small factory in the capital's Farmgate.

The garment unit, which was set up in 1991, was struggling for work orders from international retailers and brands.

But the situation started to turn for the better when MA Jabbar, managing director of DBL Group, started expanding its capacity with a new vision in 1994.

Jabbar, then a fresh computer science and technology graduate of the University of Texas, had taken charge of the family business and did not look back.

Now it is one of the largest conglomerates in the country, employing some 43,000 people.

After a journey of three decades, the group has 24 business and industrial units in sectors ranging from textile, spinning, dyeing, finishing and garment to pharmaceuticals, ICT, dredging, ceramics and packaging.

The group expects its annual turnover to reach more than $1 billion at the end of the current fiscal year, up 15 per cent year-on-year.

Of the amount, the group exported goods worth $480 million and has a target to take it to $520 million.

The group plans to invest $750 million in its DBL Industrial Park at Sylhet in the next five years, targeting a turnover of more than $2 billion in the stipulated timeframe.

The total number of employees in the group will reach 85,000 in the next five years as it has already started setting up new spinning, dyeing and garment units on 168 acres of land within an economic zone in Sylhet.

Jabbar, born in 1961 at Tejgaon in Dhaka, had a vision from his early life to be a big businessperson as his father was already doing business on a small scale in Dhaka.

Construction and trading of commodities were the focal point of his family business which was initiated by his father in Dhaka in 1958.

Jabbar completed his schooling from Adamjee Cantonment Public School in Dhaka and intermediate education from Chattogram College as his father also had business in Chattogram.

Afterwards, he left Bangladesh to study in the US.

"I had a dream to be a big businessperson from the very beginning of my career," Jabbar said.

He said that on returning to the country, he had a mindset that could have easily made him a champion at any high-level corporate employment, be it a domestic or multinational company.

But instead he opted to join his small family-owned garment factory as managing director in 1994.

"Till date, I am still the managing director of the group and I was not promoted further although the group became one of the major conglomerates in the country," Jabbar joked with The Daily Star.

"I enjoy my job very much as the group came to this position from almost scratch through a struggle," he said.

Jabbar said his inspiration comes from his brother Dulal, who was killed at the Rayer Bazar killing ground by the then Pakistani army on December 14, 1971.

In fact, the Pakistani army had come to their Tejgaon house in search of another freedom fighter's elder brother but on failing to find him had taken away Dulal and killed him.

So, his family named the company after the brother -- Dulal Brother Limited. Currently, the remaining four brothers and a nephew and niece are running the group.

Continuing to lead the united family and its business, Jabbar said running such a business had its challenges but still there was a charm as everybody cooperates with him.

More of the second generation is also set to join the group.

There are 10 altogether, all sons and daughters of the four brothers who are now studying in different universities.

The company has developed a family business guideline and everybody abides by it.

The main policy of the family business is adoptability and the group developed a model of adoptability. The concept of adoptability helped the group to grow a lot.

The group is imparting training to all partners on family business governance, developed by the International Finance Corporation for efficient management of business.

Jabbar is blessed with two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter is studying at Boston University, the younger one at New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business and the youngest son at the University of Texas.

Jabbar believes there is no shortcut to becoming a big businessperson. The company has some corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities involving schools and colleges near its factories.

Moreover, the group makes contributions to sexual and reproductive health service provider Marie Stopes Bangladesh, health and family planning service provider Surjer Hashi Network, Dhaka Ahsania Mission and BIRDEM General Hospital.

Jabbar is the senior vice president of the Bangladesh Economic Zone Investors Association and vice president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

He is also on the Board of Global Compact Network Bangladesh and represents DBL in the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh, and World Economic Forum.

DBL Group received multiple recognitions such as a Superbrands award, national export trophy, HSBC export excellence award, Bangladesh innovation award, disability inclusive employment award and excellence in corporate governance award.

Jabbar has now been crowned businessperson of the year 2021 at the 20th Bangladesh Business Awards, an initiative of DHL Express and The Daily Star.