Do you belong to one of those people who jumped in joy hearing the news that Sushmita Sen was crowned the Miss Universe award in 1994? Do you remember the time when our newspapers were flooded with her images and our sentiments of Bengali heritage and the pride... that after all...Sushmita is a Bengali (even before she is an Indian...however a topic open to debate...and not in this blog). Similarly when Amartya Sen won the Nobel, we were also elated thinking that finally a Bengali has done it again...after ofcourse King Tagore. You know what, the starting question of this post actually applies to me, I was a school-goer when Sushmita reached the pinnacle of success and I spent days of awe and pride assuming that what an unbelievable combination a Bengali girl can have...brain, body, personality, appearance..all in one package...and she is after all...a Bengali...like me...wow. So I personally always looked for occasions in the global platform where I could be a part of the merry-making and shine of glory of fellow Bengalis and Bangladeshis or both. Even though Sushmita is first of all an Indian and then a Bengali, I tried to utilize that faint link of 'our being Bengali' and be happy.Similar joy and pride hit me when the news about NewsCred reached my ears. A Bangladeshi newspape
r claimed that its one of the happening and popular internet-startup set up by...guess...? two Bangladeshis! I was elated and and felt proud that Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have started emerging as the new 'Larry' and 'Eric' and 'Mark Zuck' in today's business world. I was not late in checking out their website here to find out how our Desi Bhais have done something so extraordinary and how we can learn from it. Well, I will certainly shy away from giving a review on their business and website, you can do it yourself if you Google them up. What I understand is that, they are doing well and they have a good business model. What I didn't however find in their 'Our Story' section, was the name 'Bangladesh'. And that is what made me wonder why I jumped in joy hearing Sushmita's winning the Miss Universe Crown...what was in it for me? Did that help me uplift my brand image as a Bengali? Did that help me avoid being singled out in global platform as being a Bangladeshi? May be...may be not. Similary, NewsCred founders say that one of them is from Sweden and the other one studied in the US. Wonder why they stopped short of saying that they are Bangladeshis and/or from Bangladesh. However, all this hoopla might go down the drain if the young entrepreneurs are NOT actually Bangladeshis. They might be born and brought up in the countries which are thousand miles away from Bangladesh any ways. Also, I am not sure if carrying a Bangladeshi brand behind your back will decrease your chances of getting a deep-pocket venture capitalist or not. Brand Bangladesh for business is yet to perhaps take up a soild shape.
r claimed that its one of the happening and popular internet-startup set up by...guess...? two Bangladeshis! I was elated and and felt proud that Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have started emerging as the new 'Larry' and 'Eric' and 'Mark Zuck' in today's business world. I was not late in checking out their website here to find out how our Desi Bhais have done something so extraordinary and how we can learn from it. Well, I will certainly shy away from giving a review on their business and website, you can do it yourself if you Google them up. What I understand is that, they are doing well and they have a good business model. What I didn't however find in their 'Our Story' section, was the name 'Bangladesh'. And that is what made me wonder why I jumped in joy hearing Sushmita's winning the Miss Universe Crown...what was in it for me? Did that help me uplift my brand image as a Bengali? Did that help me avoid being singled out in global platform as being a Bangladeshi? May be...may be not. Similary, NewsCred founders say that one of them is from Sweden and the other one studied in the US. Wonder why they stopped short of saying that they are Bangladeshis and/or from Bangladesh. However, all this hoopla might go down the drain if the young entrepreneurs are NOT actually Bangladeshis. They might be born and brought up in the countries which are thousand miles away from Bangladesh any ways. Also, I am not sure if carrying a Bangladeshi brand behind your back will decrease your chances of getting a deep-pocket venture capitalist or not. Brand Bangladesh for business is yet to perhaps take up a soild shape.Nevertheless, I would always be proud if NewsCred would like to share some of their glory with the name 'Bangladesh', that is if they at all are from Bangladesh in the first place, otherwise, sorry for this nagging to get a share of the success story....as you and we and I...all share the same country label....which needs a well-deserved rebranding in all means...and global business is the best way to do that.
6 comments:
Wow. Amazing. Living and being born in the US, I always say that I am from Bangladesh because I don't look American or Swedish in this case. Yet there are people who would differ.
The expat community could never stand how they 'missed' the train. The country which they deserted in the nascent years is now one of the most sought-after markets. Yes there are problems but the money is still there.
And I have seen Bangladeshis rolling into New York in Caddilacs and BMWs instead of being in the driver's seat of a taxi cab. Their summer homes are mostly the white and prosperous area instead of Jackson Heights. I am delighted these self-christened Bangladeshis time to time. But the other 'Americans' remain snobbish even though they are hardly in that position.
Have you ever heard Lakshmi Mittal uttering that he is British despite holding residence there? Its not the pride that Bangldeshis fail to master, it is their personal dignity that is clearly lacking.
Hi - Shafqat from NewsCred here. Thanks for your post and sharing the excitement we have about the potential of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
Iraj and I are both extremely proud to be Bangladeshi. It doesn't matter where we might have grown up, but we have never shied away from our Bangladeshi heritage. In fact, I was surprised when you mentioned that the 'Our Story' page did not mention we are Bangladeshi - it was purely unintentional. I will be adding that in today!
As for the first commenter, I'm not sure if you were referring to us specifically, but I hope you are not judging our personal dignity!
I would also point you to the Daily Star article about us (http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=59034), where I said I hoped NewsCred would serve as an inspiration to all other Bangladeshis who want to get involved in the global startup scene. This is the time for us to shine!
I actually read about the Newscred from the Daily Star and after visiting the site, I was really proud that 2 Bangladeshis, 1 is almost our age, have actually come up with such an unique and credible way of putting news to the public. It was indeed an incredible initiative. But when Red & Green put forward that the initiators actually didn't identify themselves as Bangladeshis in the "About us" section, I was disappointed. But now that Shafqat Bhai has realized his mistake and decided to add it, I believe we can identify perfectly with the pride and joy of the Bangladeshi initiators. Keep up the good work and let Bangladesh be proud of you!
Its always very positive to see that we have Initiators among us. The site has links for, possibly, every aspects, current economic analysis, US UK or News section for Europe etc. But, it may become a very good platform to share information on Bangladesh by placing an individual link for Bangladesh. In, which people can share and learn about us.
Thanks Shafqat for dropping by and for your comments. We wish you well and would like to be with you through thick and thin, as Bangladesh Corporate Blog actively encourages Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and their innovative ideas.
Thanks Shafqat for dropping by and for your comments. We wish you well and would like to be with you through thick and thin, as Bangladesh Corporate Blog actively encourages Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and their innovative ideas.
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