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Outstanding woman in business
Staff Correspondent
Rupali Chowdhury took Berger Paints Bangladesh to new heights after taking the helm of the paint manufacturing company in 2008.
Since then, the corporate leader led from the front and made Berger the number one company in Bangladesh’s paint industry. Its net sales grew nearly six times to Tk 1,882 crore in 2020 from Tk 352 crore in 2007.
Obtaining an MBA from University of Dhaka’s Institute of Business Administration, Chowdhury started her career in 1984 with Ciba Geigy (Bangladesh), a multinational pharmaceutical and chemical company.
In 1990, she joined Berger Paints Bangladesh as a planning manager and later served in different capacities at various departments, including marketing, sales, distribution and planning.
Also the chairman and managing director of Jenson & Nicholson (Bangladesh), a subsidiary of Berger Paints Bangladesh, Chowdhury worked relentlessly to build an organisational structure where meritocracy reigns supreme.
During her tenure, the company diversified to a number of business segments, including adhesives, textile emulsions and printing ink, brought new technologies to the industry and launched environment-friendly, lead-free and odourless paints.
She emerged as a great leader when the coronavirus pandemic slashed the company’s sales by almost 50 percent in the April-June quarter to Tk 228.5 crore from that in the previous quarter.
Despite the huge fall in business, the company provided its painters with over Tk 1.75 crore to help them recover fast.
The passionate businesswoman also made it possible for Berger Paints Bangladesh to achieve 81 percent of last year’s sales in the April-September period of 2020.
Business person of the year
Staff Correspondent
After spending 15 years in the pharmaceuticals sector, Abdul Muktadir decided to become an entrepreneur and started Incepta Pharmaceuticals in 1999.
Muktadir, who studied pharmacy at the University of Dhaka and industrial pharmacy at Long Island University in the US, said he was confident he would pull this off.
In just eight years, Incepta Pharmaceuticals became the second-largest drugmaker in Bangladesh, a rare feat for a small market with many competing companies.
Today, the company’s annual turnover is Tk 2,755 crore.
His success largely stemmed from his unwavering focus on launching new products. Incepta has introduced as many as 175 new generic drugs in the local market, thanks to its large investment in research and development.
“I am always focused on innovation, uniqueness and quality, and these qualities have made us successful,” said Muktadir.
Under his leadership, Incepta has become the first company in Bangladesh to roll out insulin, biotech products, and vaccines.
By producing these locally, the company has been able to bring down the prices significantly.
He was able to create a successful enterprise that now employs about 10,000 people, a huge progress from the less than 100 he had started with.
Today, Incepta exports medicines to 67 countries. The company clocked a 26 percent growth rate in export earnings in the last fiscal year.
The firm has won the National Export Trophy for four consecutive years since 2016-17.
“Medicines are being exported to 130 countries from Bangladesh. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Soon, Bangladesh will be known as a producer of high-quality medicines,” he said in an interview last year.
Best financial institution of the year
Staff Correspondent
Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL) has become the people’s lender by providing numerous financial services to both tech-savvy youths and underprivileged people.
Through its efforts, DBBL has succeeded in bringing many of the country’s unbanked into the formal financial system. It also introduced several firsts in the banking sector.
In 2004, DBBL rolled out its automated teller machine (ATM) service, which was a first of its kind initiative among the local lenders.
Over time, the bank has built Bangladesh’s largest ATM network, with around 5,000 units dotting across the country.
The DBBL also set up Fast Track centres, a branchless banking facility featuring several ATMs, in every upazila, giving a much-needed boost to financial inclusion in rural areas.
The lender also became the country’s first debit card issuer in 2004. It has since disbursed 80 lakh debit cards, the highest number of cards issued by a single bank.
The DBBL invested about Tk 12 crore in developing an e-commerce platform in 2010 when digital banking systems were mostly absent in the country.
A torchbearer in mobile financial service, the bank introduced Bangladesh’s first MFS in 2011.
When it comes to agent banking, DBBL has enjoyed tremendous success since the venture began two and a half years ago. This was around the same time that it rolled out NexusPay -- a mobile application for cardless transactions.
Thanks to its various financial inclusion programmes and digital banking services, there are about three crore active accounts with the bank.
Having begun its journey back in 1996, DBBL invested heavily in the expansion of its extraordinary services and is now seeing returns on those initiatives.
The bank’s net profit stood at Tk 434 crore in 2019, up from Tk 420 crore the year before.
Enterprise of the year
Staff Correspondent
Snowtex began its journey in 1998 as an accessories and trims supplier for local garment manufacturers and soon after a buying house connecting buyers and retailers to manufacturers.
A few successful years past exporting garments to the US and Canada, it accepted American brand Berne Apparel as a partner to establish its first factory, Snowtex Apparels, in 2004.
To cater to an increasing number of work orders, Snowtex in a joint venture with Berne set up another factory, Cut N Sew Ltd, in 2009.
It then adopted modern, green and sustainable manufacturing concepts in founding Snowtex Outerwear in 2014 and Snowtex Sportswear in 2019.
The readymade woven garment maker now has a yearly turnover of $250 million and employs more than 16,000 people.
Its products range from a variety of jackets, purpose-based wear, vests, overalls, coveralls, and bottoms.
The company lists some 50 countries as export destination and top buyers such as Berne Apparel, Decathlon, Columbia Sportswear Company, VF Corporation and BESTSELLER.
Dedicated to the task is 11.50 lakh square-feet production floor sitting on over 20 acres of land in Dhamrai currently making use of 11,000 machines in 180 production lines.
A 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) section collaborates in cutting, printing, embroidery, welting, sewing, and finishing, all designed with technologically advanced machineries.
Apart from a sample section, an inventory system runs an organised warehouse of nearly 2 lakh square feet.
To ensure shipments make it out smooth, the company has its own inspection, clearing and forwarding (C&F) firm and logistics support.
Snowtex made its foray into the local market in 2018 with SaRa Lifestyle. With a 100 per cent annual growth, it now has five outlets and plans another five by 2021.
Snowtex Outerwear has attained a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification as a “Green Factory” from the US Green Building Council.