Where is Siddika Kabir's Restaurant?

One of the must carry essentials during my student years outside Bangladesh was a book. A book not related to any fiction, fantasy or facts of real world, a book not related to any academic requirement whatsoever. No time for Masud Rana, Sunil or Shirshendu..Humayun Ahmed or Humayun Azad. But that was a book directly related to my existence, my day to day living and well being. A cook book by famous Bangladeshi chef Siddika Kabir that I didn't forget to buy at the 11th hour prior to catching a flight. Amazon describes one of her books as 'The best book for cooking written in Bengali for decades. In very easy and informative way the author has unveiled the secrets of traditional, contemporary, modern and fast-food preparing as well. Since late 70's a copy of this book is available in each household in Bangladesh as well as a part of standard packing for those who left for abroad.'

Among many other things in life, what I don't understand much are paintings, poetry, printers, photocopiers and cooking. The last in the list appears to me as easy at times, but when I get to do it myself, it appears to be as complicated as flying a fighter jet perhaps. Hence this reliance on the Bengali food Bible composed by the respected Siddika Kabir. While I am still flipping through the recipe pages of her book trying to successfully cook and eat (and let eat) some edible items, I was wondering why doesn't Siddika Kabir have any restaurants anywhere in Bangladesh? Its common knowledge that she is a familiar and popular face in cooking shows in many private television channels in the country, but wouldn't it be nice if she did have a flagship restaurant by her own name, owned by her, run by her somewhere in the city? It would be so nice to visit her signature restaurant from time to time to be served with delicious food items prepared by her very own unique recipes. Would be even nicer if she decides to show up occasionally to ask the food-lovers how the food was. She could even arrange some sort of impromptu cooking lessons in the same premises as the diners would be enjoying their food, cooked or directed by the chef herself. In a country where we love to eat, have eateries like mushrooms, its still too crowded with 'me too' restaurants or the frankly fake ones. This sector still has room for authentic food icons such as her.

In my opinion, what Siddika Kabir had been doing since 1965 deserves her to be branded, her knowledge in terms of the recipes are certainly exportable abroad where there is a large Bangladeshi diaspora presence. Same principle applies for Fakruddin's Biriyani too, if we crave over the Biriyani, wonder why this item and the brand have not been exported massively outside Bangladesh so far? Are we waiting for the Fakruddin family to initiate partnerships abroad? Or they are just not interested? Or is it just us who don't want to take the initiative to forge a partnership with them to spread this great Bangladeshi brand beyond Bangladesh, Singapore, Australia and to the US, Europe, Middle East etc.? Try Googling 'Bangladeshi celebrity chef'....we are certainly proud of Tommy Miah but somewhere down the line, I feel we would have been prouder to see the likes of the Siddika Kabir in that search too. Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Sanjeev Kapoor etc. might be self-taught, gifted cooking geniuses, but they did not brand themselves beyong their territories by themselves. It is argued that the media, the diaspora had an instrumental role to play in transforming these culinary brands into global level which proudly carry their national entities with them wherever they go. Why can't we do something better with our culinary trailblazers such as Siddika Kabir, Fakruddin's Biriyani, Mamar Halim or Kader (or Mostakim) er Chaap? Lets not wait for foreign consultants to come and show us what great items and achievers we have which should have been rightly promoted/branded long time ago.

Marketing Education from Momtaz Madam

Sorry to disappoint you but today's marketing lessons are not by any head-turner, heart-throb, drop-dead-gorgeous, new female faculty in any of the private universities of Bangladesh. As far as I know, this madam does not teach business or branding anywhere, neither any business-branding gurus of our country ever considered her to be of any worth to exemplify marketing lessons. She is the queen of her own queendom and some call her 'folk queen' of modern times of Bangladesh---our very own 'bukta faitta zay' singer---Momtaz.

Up Down Left Right University of Business Assministration

Assmission Test, June 2025

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Question: Compare and contrast the difference and/or similarities between singer Momtaz and Bangladesh Corporate Blog and discuss the marketing lessons from Momtaz. (Marks 10)

Answer:

1. Choice of language:

Singer Momtaz's choice of words in her song lyrics are rather informal and to some extent flirts with weird and/or emphatic expressions. For example some of her song titles, lyric include 'bukta faitta jay' (my heart bursts), 'amar ghum vangaiya dilo re morar kokiley' (my sleep was broken by the bloody cuckoo), 'Bhalobashar dengue jor' (the Dengue Fever of Love), 'Piritir ketha dia...' (the blanket of love), 'Joubon ekta Gold Leaf Cigarette' (Youth is a Gold Leaf cigarette) etc. Corporate Blog also uses informal language of business blogging and very frequently calls politicians and theory-heavy business gurus as 'airheads', 'shitheads', 'idiots' etc. However, Momtaz Apa sings in Bengali while the blog blogs in English. However all of them studied in Bengali medium schools.

2. Target Audience:

Songs of Momtaz Begum target the lower income mass music lovers of Bangladesh. Its unlikely that she will be invited to perform at Le Saigon, Spaghetti Jazz or Kozmo Lounge. Bangladesh Corporate Blog also blogs for mostly students, young entrepreneurs, executives in Bangladesh and abroad. Its unlikely that they will be invited to blue collar corporate events, close door brand prayer sessions followed by dinner and fashion shows.

3. Formal training/education:

Momtaz Apa does not possess any formal degree in music from Shantiniketan or any school remotely linked with music. She got the talent in her genes from her singer father and carried on. She even does not know how to play a harmonium. This blog also does not have any formal structure, its not a company, formal entity whatsoever. The bloggers here did not study business from leading business schools in Bangladesh or in the US. They also have never managed big branded companies in Bangladesh or abroad.

4. Looks:

The choice is pretty much clear if asked to decide between singer Mila and Momtaz. Similarly between the bloggers here (please click) and perhaps Shah Rukh Khan or Brad Pitt.

5. Existence:

Even though established, well-educated and well-trained singers of Bangladesh might frown at the popularity and singing prowess of Momtaz Madam, they can't deny that 'she exists' and she is out there big time. They like it or not, there is a sizeable number of people who like her music and treat her as their entertainment queen. Similary, some like it or not, this blog exists big time in the internet, thanks to high organic search results in Google (70%) and total dominance for keywords like 'bangladeshi business blog', 'bangladesh corporate', 'bangladesh blog'.

Marketing lessons from Momtaz Madam can be elaborated as following:

1. Be a People's Brand:

Singer Momtaz sings as if she represents the mass music lovers of Bangladesh. Most of this group either belongs to the rural areas or the lower income urban population. However, recently students, youth are showing keen enthusiasm to her music mostly because of her candid lyrics, flamboyant voice and 'care-no-one' attitude. So think about how your businss/brand represents, connects to the mass. Many fans of Momtaz consider her to be their relative and a household name, source of entertainment and inspiration. Can you say the same for your brand? Do your consumers consider your brand a naturally inseperable member of their family?

2. Practice Brand Conviction:

Although Momtaz Madam is renowned for her bold choice of words in her songs, it rarely appears to be vulgar. This is because she reflects conviction through her voice, its pitch. As if she firmly believes in what she is singing which enforces the conviction through her performances. Does your brand radiate your passion to serve? Does it appear naturally or seems fake?

3. Preach Comfortable Coexistence:

Momtaz as a brand comfortably exists with other singers not only in the folk music segment but in the overall music industry. She does not seem to show off that 'air of celebrityness' or degrade other so called 'established and trained' singers. She is warm and welcome to any other form of music. This openness has contributed to her brand being perceived as generous, down to earth and accessible, thus adding to her viral popularity. Does your brand exist comfortably with your competition and still the consumers choose you among other options?

4. Have a Brand personality:

Momtaz's voice, composition and lyrics are unique, authentic and people seem to talk about it, either to appreciate or tease, but they still talk about it. These elements signify the 'human-ness' of her brand as a person. Does your business/brand have a face or is it faceless? Can you define, feel its personality?

5. Tickle a taboo:

A key element for a brand to become famous or infamous in Bangladesh is if it tickles any social taboo. It works. If we consider a woman singing not only about mushy love and romantic Bangla songs but actually inferring sexual hints, swear words or using street language and metaphors not many musicians would dare to experiment with, Momtaz did it all and it still works for her. Many of her fans like her because she is daring, she is a music maverick and through her antics she seems to tickle many social taboos that exist in Bangladesh. That is why she is popular, for the right reason or wrong...but she is. So if your brand manages to tickle any social taboo, rest assured your brand will gain the essential word of mouth spread that is required during launch or growth. Sex, polygamy, adultery, contraceptions, nudity, even affirmative women are in some cases considered to be sensitive issues not to be discussed in public. If you do, you will throw stones at the bee-hive.

6. Show your Brand Robinhood-ness:

Personal Social Responsibility (shall we call it PSR, as opposed to CSR?) is at the core of the brand Momtaz from the word 'go'. By setting up eye hospitals, by allying with social agencies, NGOs to spread social messages on health, education etc. Momtaz shows the socially responsible side of her business/brand. She seems to be the Robinhood among her followers, fans...robbing the rich of their fakeness, vanity, prejudice and distributing truth, sincerity, love among the masses...that is what she does. What is that 'Robinhood-ness' of your brand? You literally don't need to steal or snatch things away from the rich and wealthy and distribute it to your constituents but it works if your brand shows generousity, acts of free give-aways and free love...consumer love it. Please don't attempt to steal tins, food grains etc. reserved and meant for relief purposes though, that might have a boomerang effect.

End of exam.

Renaming for a Digital Bangladesh

Do you have a new born? Do you know someone who has a new born? Do you dream of a Digital Bangladesh? Do you believe that names have an impact on how the baby would behave when it grows up? Then waste no more time, go nowhere else...some of our creative brains have proposed some innovative Digital Bengali names for our new borns, the future Digital Generation Bangladesh...shall we call them Gen-D?

Since the primary audience of this blog targets English speaking (and reading) Bangladeshi and non-Bangladeshi business readers, I have transliterated the Digital Bengali names. Here is all we have for your naming pleasure.

1. Mouse Choudhury

2. Monitor Alam

3. Mozilla Akhter

4. Opera Khatun

5. Cable Dewan

5. Modem Khandker

6. DVD Khan

7. Google Mia

8. Profile Choudhury

9. Schedule Alam

10. Folder Sheikh

11. Refresh Mahmud

12. Email Patowary

13. Laptop Haider

14. IBM Chattopaddhay

15. Ipod Kibria

16. PC Sarkar

17. Kamruzzaman Excel

18. Intel Chakraborty

19. Asus Majumder

20. RAM Mohan Roy

21. Apple Khan

22. Casing Akhter

23. Duel Rana

24. Audio Hawladar

25. XP Singh

26. Device Adhikary

27. Undo Mia

28. Zafrullah Sharafont

Amazing piece of naming convention and innovation isn't it? Let me know which one(s) you liked the most. I still believe that we as a nation naturally possess great sense of humour, however if we also had put our brains and time in the right places in right time, we should have become more developed than Malaysia by now (sigh). Nevertheless, I hope the policy makers and spoilticians (spoilt politicians) of Bangladesh would greet these digital Bengali names and the act of renaming babies with arms wide open, as they love renaming almost everything in Bangladesh, depending on whoever is in power. So if they are dreaming of a Digital Bangladesh, what best a way than to start renaming the future generation in the true digital way.

I wish we could rename a donkey as a horse and it would soon start running faster and win important races for us. Only and only if it were so simple and easy. Hardly anything would be achieved other than a good laugh and some time wasted, by naming or renaming babies, bridges, hospitals or airports. There is a reason why every programmer is not called 'Bill Gates' or 'Steve Jobs' in the US and why they still lead the global software powerhouses. Rather than renaming, we better relook at the way we go about doing our business, revise our perceptions towards branding, entrepreneurship, innovation, refresh our knowledge about Bangladeshi brands and businesses and rethink the way we want to portray ourselves to the business world.

Eat Chinese, by Chinese, at Chinese restaurant, in Bangladesh

Have you ever thought why many people prefer to look for ‘authentic’ Chinese food from restaurants such as Bamboo Shoot or Golden Rice or for ‘authentic’ Korean food from food joints like Arirang, Koreana etc. in Dhaka city? There had been so many Chinese restaurants in the city successfully catering to the Chinese food lovers for decades. However, many businessmen and families alike have lately grown a liking for the restaurants mentioned earlier not only to entertain foreign guests but also to arrange family gatherings, occasions etc. Other than perhaps the food being of superior quality and alcohol being served on the premises, it is argued that there is the element of true Chinese or Korean staff/owner/waiters being involved in the service process, which adds a great deal to the experience inside those restaurants.

I attended a Christmas party the other day at a French restaurant in London. Other than having names of food written in French in menu with explanations in smaller font in English, French music being played in the background, photographic pieces on French culture, history, the restaurant also had French speaking waiters and waitresses who conversed with guests and took orders in heavily French accentuated English. The accent was so ‘French’ that confusions occurred frequently whether they were speaking in English or making it sound like more ‘Frenchlish’. Nevertheless, the human touch of a frenchman/woman added a great deal to the experience of having French food at a French restaurant in London. In the same note, I realised that most Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants here are run and served by either Indians and/or Bangladeshis, West Indian restaurants served by Jamaicans, Dominicans etc., sushi restaurants run by Japanese and ofcourse the Kebab and Doner shops being run by mostly Turkish people. Certainly this is a no-brainer that Italians are the best cooks for pasta and pizza, Japanese for sushi and so on. Culinary country branding this is.

But interestingly in a country like Bangladesh which is full of food lovers where eating is an important part of day to day life and where there are perhaps equal if not more number of restaurants than shopping malls and mosques, there are only a handful of restaurants which showcase the ethnic human link to the food being served at the same time. Seeing ‘Chinese looking’ staff in a Chinese restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital certainly increases the credibility and authenticity and the ‘Chineseness’ of that restaurant in the middle of the Bangladeshi capital, atleast in the case of Bamboo Shoot and Golden Rice. It cannot however be argued that Chinese or Indian restaurants in Bangladesh which are being managed by Bangladeshis are not making any profit or are not popular or don’t serve good food. The argument is that when the food belongs to a certain foreign country, it makes the experience more complete if its also being cooked and served by someone who belongs to that country and who establishes interaction directly with the consumers when they are in the process of consuming that service—that’s the intangible value addition to the experience marketing. Its true that not all foreign food restaurants should have, or can afford to have foreign staff when there are so many unemployed Bangladeshis eagerly looking for employment. However it seems those which do (showcase foreign staff, chef, owner) seem to draw a certain class of consumers may be still from a niche segment of food lovers.

If you have Turkish friends in Bangladesh, ask two of them to set up and start running a Turkish Doner Kebab shop, where they themselves should be slicing and serving the kebabs. Its highly likely that it will break even in 6 months if it’s the ‘only’ Turkish restaurant in town as of date.

Victory for Red and Green!

I am not sure if you have come across the Shada Kalo boutique at Rifles Square and also in Banani No. 11 Road in Dhaka. I don't know if they have branches elsewhere but they were first of its kind to try produce fashion clothes, accessories, materials as long as they were either white (shada) or black (kalo). Pretty innovative nonetheless and we can discuss about their business strategy next time. But their idea has been the inspiration to me to see outlets around Bangladesh producing, promoting and selling merchandize only based on the two colors very close to our heart--red and green--The main two colors of the national flag of Bangladesh.

Pretty much like the month of Ramadan, when you see an uprise in the number of 'seasonal practitioners', the month of December also sees an inundation of nationalism. Ofcourse this is good but why limit this great sense of belonging and pride to one month only and why limit this expression of solidarity to the flag only and why limit the selling of national flags to the hands of floating traders only in busy traffic intersections in cities? The idea is to have more than one outlets across cities and district towns who would sell more than flags, it could be banners, stickers, mugs, pen drives, t-shirts, ear-rings, desk flags, key rings, coat pins, bag pins, simple pens, card holders, head bandanas, wrist bands, umbrellas, dining sets, cushion covers and perhaps many more....only and only as long as they are either red or green or both.


Please note that accessorising patriotism is a topic we have discussed before where this act of doing business works towards promoting sense of nationalism (atleast in December and in March perhaps) and can even be great source of basic education as well which could be provided right at the points of purchase. For example, how many of us or of the younger generation know who designed the flag of Bangladesh? So an element of nationalistic education could be embedded in any product which uses national events as a hook and can serve as learning tools not only for us but for foreigners too. For example, couple of months ago, I asked Shabana apa to get me some tiny Bangladeshi flag coatpins (yes, like Obamama and Bush) from Amecon Ltd. in Chairman Bari in Mohakhali, Dhaka, as she was travelling from Dhaka to London. I had been donning them since to work from time to time and to external events where my national identity could be 'worn' as an ornament. Many has since asked me which country's flag that was (!) and what does it signify, so the job of the Bangla brand ambassador is a full time one here.


No doubt bits and pieces of patriotic merchandizing already exist in the form of wrist bands, t-shirts, mugs etc. But have a look here what the opportunities are and how we can help spread it not only in December but all the year round! Ofcourse true progess as a nation will not be achieved by wearing red and green lungis or gamchhas or grameen check only, we need to unite, do, act and work harder for that. But there is certainly no harm in showing off our true blood colors, which is not red...its red and green, especially on the eve of the great victory day! Just to remember that 'victory' these days is achieved and need to be sustained not anymore at war fronts but in business boardrooms, TV and computer screens in urban and rural households and more importantly in the mindspace of consumers, citizens etc.

What are you smiling for?

I would admit that when I walked into the Banani branch of Standard Chartered Bank in Dhaka, I was not expecting that the lady at the reception would smile and greet me in. As a reflex I also did smile back, quickly lost eye contact and moved on to fill up the pink slips, still thinking in the back of my mind, 'why did she smile at me? Am I looking funny? Does she know me? Do I know her? Have I seen her before somewhere? Which mela? Which mall? Pink City? Bashundhara Mall?'

Nevermind....I noticed slyly if she was extending the same smiling service to all customers who walked in or was I special, or was she suspicious? My brief 'participant observation' established the fact that she was naturally and willingly smiling at almost every customer walking in, depending on her preoccupations from time to time at her workstation. On the other hand, I tried to notice how the 'smile struck' customers were reacting to this smiling receptionist. Majority of the customers who walked in during my half an hour stay were male, students, business men, young and middle-aged men mostly. Other than a handful of them, most of the king customers either remained indifferent or just pretended as if she did not exist in that side of the room. However almost all of them, like me, didn't forget to throw a sly glance at her from different corners of the office space...probably posing the same questions as I did..trying to figure out the mystery of an unknown Bangladeshi woman smiling at unknown men, who she could be, what could be her family background etc. and all those unquenched curiosity, never realising just simply that its the very basic a staff at reception can do....smile, which does not cost anything...every company in the world asks, trains, teaches, preaches their staff to do this...at their customers....but many of them just forget to do it...or just don't do it because of some peculiarities on ground.

Female staff are deliberately kept at receptions not only in Bangladesh but around the world for variety of reasons. Having a sexist discussion would be something to discuss in a different post perhaps, but it is argued that you don't see many female staff smiling at you 'for nothing' when you walk towards the reception at any office premises in Bangladesh. Most of the time I have found staff at reception, both male and female, rather indifferent, cold, uninterested towards whoever is walking in to them. Many times, female staff are not very interested to make eye contacts too...perhaps wary of me smiling at her 'for nothing' :). Well I have heard arguments from both sides on this. Men say that many female staff think that they nearly were crowned Miss World in last year's beauty pageant but due to a twist in fate, they ended up at the wrong place of doing this job at the front desk or at the bank counters. Many also claim that some female executives carry the notion that some male customers might fall in love at first sight if they prefer to smile, act nice and easy with all of them. So to pre-empt and fend off any unsolicited advancement, the female cadre prefer to remain cold and appear as much formal, emotionless as possible.

Female staff on the other hand also argue that due to some peculiar perceptions towards women at work place in Bangladesh, most of the male customers, even colleagues are not 'properly' oriented with how to deal with female staff, colleagues etc. So many of the male customers, colleagues, who sometimes happen to be 'part time losers and lovers in their own right', try to express overflowing emotions of interest, mating and dating in the very first or few instances of receiving so called 'hints' from their female counterparts in the form of smiles, eye contact, showing signs of being comfortable etc. Women at workplace even in developed economies carry an extra burden of consciousness and identity, its no exception in Bangladesh, infact they perhaps carry a heavier load in that respect. However all these are mere hearsays which brings us to ask if there exists or not any research on 'gender issues while providing customer services' in Bangladesh..may be I will ask Parveen Apa.

Have a look at this article which I came across recently which discusses how women can crack the gender code at work place. Its a pretty interesting piece of work where highlights include when the author recommends women to 'dress for success, not for access' at work place (LOL)...also contradictory to what I have been trying to say in this blogpost...the author however advises working women 'not to smile too much' at work place. Not sure if you would agree with all this or not, but its worth giving a thought.

In fine, I think some men at work should realise that there is a right place for everything and every thoughts in the back of the mind...professional environment is perhaps best suited for work related issues only...so better take a casual 'professional' smile as its supposed to be. On the other hand...some women at work better accept the fact that not all approaching men wear dodgy looks and creepy personalities...so its advised to ease up. In the end of the day, it all falls on how one carries oneself...a 'smile' is harmless enough to cause any major trouble...but powerful enough to create that first link of 'putting at ease' with the customer. So smile, smile back and move on. :)))))))))))))))))))))


Image: That is a 'ficture' of a 'bideshi issmiling afa' taken from here

Branding of Bangladeshi political and religious parties

I wonder if professional management and brand consultancies in Bangladesh ever wondered to extend their services to political and religious parties of Bangladesh on a commercial basis. Of all, I think these are the two unserved segments who are still yet to realize the full potential of branding their activities.

There are two reasons for this I believe. Firstly, both Bangladeshi politicians and religious leaders firmly believe that they have been assigned the mandates, for former it’s the ‘people’s mandate’ and the latter claiming that they have none other but ‘God’s mandate’ to do what they have been trying to do all along and that is why they don’t need any external services such as advice on their brand image, use of technology to promote and position their causes, how to interact directly with their constituents etc. So one group advocates having ‘people power’ and the other ‘God’s power’ behind them, making them special species of ‘all powerful know alls’.

Secondly, the professional management service providers in Bangladesh also never thought this segment to be of any worth with regards to providing tips and tricks on brand management, social media consultancy etc. However, any sane person in Bangladesh would agree how badly our politics and religion need to be branded or re-branded as a matter of fact.

A Digital Bangladesh will not be built if people at the helm don’t show by example through their personal conduct how that is done. We do seem to have Facebook fanpages of our two beloved political queens of soap opera found here for Apa and here for Madam. Good to see that atleast the pages exist, however I wonder how many people actually know about it and whether the persons in concern actually maintain these account themselves or not to interact with their supporters. Out of the digital world, there is an urgent need that new politicans attend crash courses in business management and branding in leading business schools to know some basic etiquettes of service and cause marketing. I also agree with your doubt that whether this would be enough to change the culture of destructive politics and other ills in the political playfield or not, but its worth giving a though a try.

Similarly, I think the way religious parties (both political and purely religious) preach their rules of play are, in its purest form, good examples of interruptive marketing, making a complete defaming of concepts such as permission marketing, cause marketing etc. When I called up my beloved and much respected Lokman Hujur back in Dhaka to discuss this concept, he asked me if I am ok or not. I was adamant and ready for this reaction, so I tried to convince him if he wants to start using Twitter to give religious tips on contemporary issues, or create a page in Facebook etc. He patiently advised me that the way he has been doing ‘things’ is the best way so far, as it has been prescribed and advised by his peers, mentors. So he asked me to keep my earthly branding knowledge to myself and to the service of the western economies. I didn’t want to argue further in a long distance telephone call, but I could very well figure out that Lokman Hujur represents a group that firmly believes that there is no ‘need’ to brand themselves otherwise, to follow innovative and contemporary methods to do the old things they have been doing (preaching, praying, promoting etc.). However, it goes without saying that many of the current concepts of marketing, branding were derived from the principles of religion only and now the time has perhaps arrived to give it back to the religion itself, as its badly bruised with negative perceptions, practices and principles.

On a careful note, we need to keep in mind that better branding to spread dirty politics and forceful religion in better ways is not something we aim to achieve. We don’t want to advise on how to use social media for example, to help spread hatred, intolerance and only supremacy of any one religion or any one political party. Rather the objective is to bring out the best in both these groups so that the best elements get more visible rather than the not so good ones, which is the other way round now.

Reflections on self-branding on Eid

You like it or leave it, the moment you step out of the country, you unknowingly become the accidental spokesperson on behalf of your country, religion, customs etc. Although you might not ever have taken (or cleared) the BCS (Bangladesh Civil Services) examinations and thus never was placed as the Bangladeshi High Commissioner through the Foreign Services to represent the Red and Green on foreign territories.
Nevertheless, the way you look, your name, gestures and ofcourse the green passport oblige (or burden?) you with this unavoidable job of being the brand ambassador of Bangladesh (and sometimes that of Islam, incase you have an Islamic name). I have countered questions on issues such as sharing of natural gas between India and Bangladesh and how it could escalate in case of the latter’s refusal and what are MY views on this, why many Bangladeshis still support a particular country’s teams in cricket (even when playing on Bangladeshi soil) with whom we had a bitter past history and what do I think about it? Also questions if I know or not much about micro-credit or Dr. Yunus, especially after he brought Bangladesh to some positive global limelight, refreshing change from the typical branding of the land of floods, famines and fundamentalists. Say today I came wearing a Panjabi Payjama on Eid at work much to the bemusement of my colleagues who were enlightened by my short speech on the essence of this day, why Muslims do what they do on this day etc. etc. etc. However, the key question that came from the audience: Why are Eids not as visible and as more like a social festival (like Christmas, Diwali etc.) rather than strictly a religious one? Stay tuned for my next post on 'Branding politics and religion'.


So even if I liked it or not, I have discovered myself unknowingly in situations over the last 10 years, where I had to be equipped with the basic knowledge of a spokesperson to counter questions on culture, politics, religion concerning Bangladesh. Which again reconfirms the fact that all my identities exist (Bangladeshi, Bengali, Muslim) and they are NOT mutually exclusive, but exist in that order of identity preference.


So inspite of your personal qualifications and earnest efforts to naturalize (or hide, deny etc.) yourself to host country environments, chances are that you might encounter situations where you happen to be the only spokesperson for the Bangla brand around, so pretending not to exist, saying ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t care’ are expensive opportunities lost to convey a positive message about the country brand. As foreigners think of you as the face of the stories (mostly negative) they read about Bangladesh, about Muslims in general in newspapers, TV, online etc. So whether you would add garbage to the already distorted image or would promote it with a mix of your personality and knowledge, is entirely your decision, but albeit an important one. Just keep in mind that whatever you say, does have an effect on your fellow community member. And since the digital media, social networks are bringing down physical borders and allowing the globalisation Tsunami, you are no more just an ordinary individual sitting at the comfort of your lounge at home or abroad and trying to be everybody everytime. Even though you are not a BCS cadre of foreign services, you are in a good position to do the job those civil servants-turned-bureaucrats-turned-airheads were supposed to do any ways, but they never did.


Moral of the story: If you have a strong country brand, you are benefitted personally and professionally too on global stage, especially abroad. If it’s the opposite, your personal accomplishments are prone to be generalized and stereotyped. Solution: Brand yourself, don’t forget the country too. Speak and carry yourself like a brand ambassador, not like a politician or a religious guru. EID Mubarak!!

Bangladesh Brand Forum opens Knowledge Center

Bangladesh Brand Forum has recently launched a Knowledge Center with a view to 'advancing the knowledge with the assistance of vast resources of business wisdom'. Read here to know more.

In first impression, I am full of hope that this initiative will work towards showcasing, documenting, archiving valuable business knowledge generated everyday in the growing business sectors of Bangladesh. Its high time that we start celebrating our business heroes, our budding business leaders and start branding ourselves first. To that respect, Bangladesh Brand Forum's Knowledge Center seems to be a good step in the right direction. I am sure knowledge exists not only in the corporate dominated urban settings in Bangladeshi businesses, but it also exists in the rural areas of the country where majority of the Small and Medium Enterprises operate. So an effort to bring this knowledge in a central repository for use by other businesses is no wonder a commendable initiative.

However, like all other things in life, first thing I did when I learnt about this project, was to Google it. That led me to the third party newspapers website from where you get the news report on this. To know more, I thought to check out the Bangladesh Brand Forum's website and experienced 'mild disappointment' with the state of the site there. In my opinion, its equally important to brand this initiative (and the BBF) through strong web presence, which should include interactive and active social media presence too (so that foreign audience know about it too). I could not find any information on latest activities, even information on latest issue of the magazine on the website. A topic for the owners to look into with utmost urgency.

Coming back to the 'Knowledge Center', I think it would be better if we could find out who all are the target audience of this initiative is and how they can participate. Do they need to pay any membership fee to become a member? What facilities will they avail? Also, the vast majority of emails I receive in this blog's email account concern with queries from job seekers, who are frantically looking for employment opportunities in Bangladeshi companies (even in this blog). Not to mention a good number of students who are even looking for part time work opportunities are also there. Will this Knowledge Center somehow cater to unemployed youth, women, students who might be looking for jobs? Or this will be just another 'blue collar' initiative only to cater to the 'corporate elites' of Bangladeshi business domain? Knowledge should be made available to all, in some form or the other, to all who might use it to advance their situation. The ability to pay/subscribe better not be a deciding factor in the long run to make this venture acceptable and popular across all strata of the business audience (students, job-seekers, executives, managers etc.)

Then I am keen to know if this Center will somehow encourage, help entrepreneurs or not? I myself am a private sector employee and have nothing against salaried employment/employees. But I have a special 'Respect Center' in my heart for entrepreneurs, business innovators, leaders. Bangladesh Brand Forum itself being one of this type, might do a great service to those who might be thinking of setting up some sort of a business in Bangladesh, but just don't know how to. BBF's elite panel of business think-tanks might provide valuable guidance and directions to budding business buddies of Bangladesh to help them set up their tiny money making ventures. What do you think?

While its important that we educate our executives the importance of branding, we also should take into account informing those who are in rural settings. So will this Center, in near future, make its service accessible, available to people who live outside Dhaka? Will there be material available in Bangla too? These are perhaps some of the key aspects the drivers of this initiative might consider, incase they already haven't.

Finally, knowledge is multi-directional, where Bangladeshis working abroad might also feed into this process with their ideas, expertise, experience etc. So does the Knowledge Center take into account 'importing knowledge' from Bangladeshi workers abroad?

Well, even if the answer to a lot of these questions is 'no', it does not mean that the initiative is short-sighted in any ways. Rather I am very optimistic that if nurtured well, this might very well turn out to be a center of excellence for Bangladeshi best business practices, case studies, general knowledge etc. So good luck with this.

Learning English the BBC Janala way

The need for being multi-lingual to gain an edge in the global business stage has been mentioned in this blog before. Its good to see some signs of innovative teaching mechanisms to spread the language learning drive. This time its BBC who has come up with a bi-lingual website to help learners of the English language in Bangladesh to take lessons over internet, mobile phones etc. Read here to know more.

Some initiative is better than no initiative at all, so hats off to BBC Trust for thinking how relevant digital technologies in the Bangladeshi context can be applied to provide language education. Some constructive observations and feedback though.

1. I think its important to segment and identify the learning audience. When you arrive at the website at http://www.bbcjanala.com, there is no clear navigation to identify myself with any learning group. For example, say I am a housewife, kid (minor), graduate, business executive, businessman (or woman) etc. Users online would like to identify themselves with any of the services being offered, as every user's needs are unique. So BBC Janala could look into the issue of segmenting the audience and tailor made their language courses accordingly. It is expected that the English learning needs of a housewife might be different from those of a business executive who encounters English speaking people almost everyday. So 'English for housewives' and 'English for businesspeople' can be packaged to cater to two different groups.

2. It might be a possibility that this service is promoted in the rural areas through various telecenters spread around Bangladesh. Since they are working with Grameen Phone (along with all other telecom operators) any ways in this project, might be possible to promote the service through the Grameen Phone Community Information Centers (GPCIC).

3. The fact that the lessons can be listened to through mobile phone sounds good but the cost associated with it (3 taka for a 3 minute audio lesson) still remains a bit high in my perspective. No doubt that the service shall never be free. But at the same time, we need to keep in mind that the vacuum the service is trying to fill is a failure of the overall education system of Bangladesh which somehow does not take into realistic consideration the need to be able to converse in fluent English (also not other languages). Also, if someone just decides to call up a friend or a person who happens to possess better knowledge of English then the whole point of having these lessons available through airtime becomes less useful. In my opinion, I really don't envisage many people to call up this service spending 3 taka for 3 minutes just to know English from perhaps an automated machine response, so better need to look at the alternatives available and how to make this service exclusive.

4. Finally its very important to demonstrate and make explicit references to real stories of real people on how knowing English aided someone in their personal, professional lives. Unless I know why or how or when exactly learning English will provide me visible benefits, chances are that I would still remain a bit doubtful in becoming a loyal and long term user of the BBC Janala service.

Effective Bangladeshi Diaspora network for economic transformation of Bangladesh (The Diaspora Project)

The Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in Partnership with the Asian Tiger Capital Partners (AT Capital) has initiated a year long project on establishing an effective Bangladeshi Diaspora network for economic transformation of Bangladesh (The Diaspora Project). The project purpose is ‘To identify the impact of Bangladeshi Diaspora in Economic transformation and leveraging its Diaspora in terms of knowledge and skills transfers and improving its global commercial interface. To establish an effective Diaspora Knowledge Network (DKN) of the British Citizen with Bangladeshi origins.’ The DKN aims to provide various online tools which will: (click read more)

• Help the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) to source and identify the skills and expertise they need from the network;
• Facilitate online communications with other NRBs globally; Submit proposals / issues which other NRBs can contribute and assist, depending on their level of skills and interest;
• Promote successful NRBs on a monthly basis from the network and provide a short profile on the website; and
• Leverage on the NRB network by sharing consultancy projects and other issues in Bangladesh that requires professionals’ advice and guidance which can be received from the vast knowledge network.

Seems to be a good initiative to channel back the good experiences, expertise gathered on foreign soil back to the roots. You can download the form to join from here, download Mr. Ifty's presentation here and the strategy document here.


I attended one of these events in London last week arranged by the bobNetwork and I was priveleged enough to have taken a short phone interview of Mr. Ifty Islam earlier today. He was asked the following questions and you can hear more about his views in the embedded phonecast.

1. Why do you think NRBs have a role to play in investment opportunities in Bangladesh?
2. What are the exact ways (how exactly) can they do it?
3. Is the role same for all NRBs in all countries or NRBs in some countries have more role to play than those in others?
4. What are the key challenges in Bangladesh now hindering the contribution and involvement of NRBs?
5. Please tell something about your partnership on this project with BEI.
6. What is your opinion on country marketing, do you have any plans for that to promote this project sustainably over the next few years?



Also have a look at his views on the financial sector of Bangladesh here

We hail this effort at the Bangladesh Corporate Blog and express our intentions to spread the word of mouse and word of mouth to make this venture bear fruit for Bangladesh..

image: http://purpleonline.net/June09/CoverStory/1/1.jpg

Beggars can be choosers, in Dhaka atleast

So you must be knowing about Sports Zone in Mohakhali, Export Processing Zones (EPZ) outside Dhaka and Chittagong, the diplomatic zone in Baridhara, you have also heard about O-zone (that is Ozone layer in the atmosphere) and some of you might be ardent fans of Boy Zone too....but now lets give it up for the new 'zone' in town...yet another product of some creative brains in the national administration...in the form of nothing other than our very own and only 'begging zone' for the Dhaka city! Yes, I am also wondering like you whether to laugh, cry, frown or sigh at this, can't make up my mind yet.


Read more here to find out how the government's Disabled Welfare Foundation had outlined an action plan to rehabilitate beggars so that "they can't create nuisances or tarnish the country's image". A survey is planned led by a 'top TV star' and charities are also pretty much vocal on the roots and reasons of why there is a huge influx of beggars in the capital. Honestly, I don't see how effective this 'special zone' would be to reduce the miseries of these beggars, some of them are 'happy-go-lucky beggars' any ways and have decided to join this 'business' voluntarily or due to family traditions. Now for the real victims of natural calamities, acute poverty...it needs a greater planning to re-establish them in the society, or to convert them long term into some sort of a workforce. Following the principles of cause and effect, we always come up with knee jerk reactions and 'measures' to prevent the 'effects' and the by-products, comfortably procrastinating to remedy the root causes that cause the eventual not-so-good effects i.e. floods of beggars in this case.


I wonder how this special begging zone would be. Some questions begging to be answered are...
1. Will there be any physical boundary to demarcate this zone?
2. Which areas are likely to be labelled as this unfortunate zone?
3. How the residents of that area would feel? Would they be termed as beggars too?
4. Will the property prices go down/up in that special zone?
5. What kind of nuisances would the beggars be allowed to create inside this zone? Please give examples.
6. Can someone apply to become a beggar and get some sort of a permit to start begging in that zone?
7. Will the government introduce similar schemes especially right after Eid holidays when non-Dhakaiyyas go to their native district towns/villages? From now on, those who were born out of the capital would require special 'zone permits' (visas?) to stay, work, live inside the 'zoned' Dhaka city? Who knows the administration might think such fantasy schemes would help reduce the traffic jam and over population of Dhaka city. So rather than addressing the problems at the root, they might do some stunt here too.


I have heard that there had been some 'begging businessmen' who had been begging professionally for decades around the religious hotspots in Dhaka and are proud owners of multi-story flats in the capital. I used to confront the seriously out of rhythm 'sufi begging tunes' of a band of five beggars beside the Australian High Commission in Gulshan-2. Then there was the young ones who used to follow a 'trick or treat' approach in the traffic intersections. They used to assume how long-lasting your relationship will be if you happen to be sitting with your wife/girlfriend in the CNG (auto-rickshaw) and give you blessings, provided you pay some quick cash. Failure to do so sometimes followed with abuse too from safer distances. Personally I always avoided the too young and mischievious ones, the young, single moms with new borns who refused offers of working at home as maids or in any garments company. Not to mention the yearly fracas that takes place on the day of Eid ul Azha with women, children fighting over the 'third portion' of the meat and eventually reselling it and reselling it and reselling it. So much so for religious purpose. I preferred to pay some extra to the old rickshaw puller or to the ferry-wallahs who turned sweat to money everyday to meet their minimum living needs.


Certainly the act of begging is not something to be ridiculed, rather the reactions to tackle this problem is worthy of serious scrutiny and sarcasm. Like many other important problems of governance, this issue was never thought of. I hope whatever we plan now lasts beyond 5 years. A troika partnership among NGOs, private sector and government agencies is a must. Also we need to keep in mind that we as a nation has a tendency to go 'palms up' especially to donors and foreign aid agencies. That certainly trickles down to bottom, so we need to weed out those who prefer to beg just because its easy, requires no or little 'hardwork' and because the government is providing 'free zones' for them to beg and continue their trade.

image: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/slideshow/ALeqM5iM-F0yAxo2d5pknoNKAw-t7O7Z8g?index=0

What are you smiling for?

I would admit that when I walked into the Banani branch of Standard Chartered Bank in Dhaka, I was not expecting that the lady at the reception would smile and greet me in. As a reflex I also did smile back, quickly lost eye contact and moved on to fill up the pink slips, still thinking in the back of my mind, 'why did she smile at me? Am I looking funny? Does she know me? Do I know her? Have I seen her before somewhere? Which mela? Which mall? Pink City? Bashundhara Mall?'

Nevermind....I noticed slyly if she was extending the same smiling service to all customers who walked in or was I special, or was she suspicious? My brief 'participant observation' established the fact that she was naturally and willingly smiling at almost every customer walking in, depending on her preoccupations from time to time at her workstation. On the other hand, I tried to notice how the 'smile struck' customers were reacting to this smiling receptionist. Majority of the customers who walked in during my half an hour stay were male, students, business men, young and middle-aged men mostly. Other than a handful of them, most of the king customers either remained indifferent or just pretended as if she did not exist in that side of the room. However almost all of them, like me, didn't forget to throw a sly glance at her from different corners of the office space...probably posing the same questions as I did..trying to figure out the mystery of an unknown Bangladeshi woman smiling at unknown men, who she could be, what could be her family background etc. and all those unquenched curiosity, never realising just simply that its the very basic a staff at reception can do....smile, which does not cost anything...every company in the world asks, trains, teaches, preaches their staff to do this...at their customers....but many of them just forget to do it...or just don't do it because of some peculiarities on ground.

Female staff are deliberately kept at receptions not only in Bangladesh but around the world for variety of reasons. Having a sexist discussion would be something to discuss in a different post perhaps, but it is argued that you don't see many female staff smiling at you 'for nothing' when you walk towards the reception at any office premises in Bangladesh. Most of the time I have found staff at reception, both male and female, rather indifferent, cold, uninterested towards whoever is walking in to them. Many times, female staff are not very interested to make eye contacts too...perhaps wary of me smiling at her 'for nothing' :). Well I have heard arguments from both sides on this. Men say that many female staff think that they nearly were crowned Miss World in last year's beauty pageant but due to a twist in fate, they ended up at the wrong place of doing this job at the front desk or at the bank counters. Many also claim that some female executives carry the notion that some male customers might fall in love at first sight if they prefer to smile, act nice and easy with all of them. So to pre-empt and fend off any unsolicited advancement, the female cadre prefer to remain cold and appear as much formal, emotionless as possible.

Female staff on the other hand also argue that due to some peculiar perceptions towards women at work place in Bangladesh, most of the male customers, even colleagues are not 'properly' oriented with how to deal with female staff, colleagues etc. So many of the male customers, colleagues, who sometimes happen to be 'part time losers and lovers in their own right', try to express overflowing emotions of interest, mating and dating in the very first or few instances of receiving so called 'hints' from their female counterparts in the form of smiles, eye contact, showing signs of being comfortable etc. Women at workplace even in developed economies carry an extra burden of consciousness and identity, its no exception in Bangladesh, infact they perhaps carry a heavier load in that respect. However all these are mere hearsays which brings us to ask if there exists or not any research on 'gender issues while providing customer services' in Bangladesh..may be I will ask Parveen Apa.

Have a look at this article which I came across recently which discusses how women can crack the gender code at work place. Its a pretty interesting piece of work where highlights include when the author recommends women to 'dress for success, not for access' at work place (LOL)...also contradictory to what I have been trying to say in this blogpost...the author however advises working women 'not to smile too much' at work place. Not sure if you would agree with all this or not, but its worth giving a thought.

In fine, I think some men at work should realise that there is a right place for everything and every thoughts in the back of the mind...professional environment is perhaps best suited for work related issues only...so better take a casual 'professional' smile as its supposed to be. On the other hand...some women at work better accept the fact that not all approaching men wear dodgy looks and creepy personalities...so its advised to ease up. In the end of the day, it all falls on how one carries oneself...a 'smile' is harmless enough to cause any major trouble...but powerful enough to create that first link of 'putting at ease' with the customer. So smile, smile back and move on. :)))))))))))))))))))))


Image: That is a 'ficture' of a 'bideshi issmiling afa' taken from here

Bangladeshi owned Indian Restaurants in the UK : a brand crying for renaming

I think its high time we stop hiring bigger country labels from the neighbourhood to promote our businesses, which has been built up over the last few decades by our very own sweat, tears and hardwork…all in the shape of the £4 billion curry industry in Britain. Read here to find out how Bangladeshi businessmen brought the British curry industry to where it is today. Also, please read the latest news article here to find out about potential ‘revenue avenues’ we could reap from this industry.
However amidst all this merrymaking, my thoughts lie elsewhere. I ask myself,

1. Would this industry be in its present place if it were without the bold and brazen ‘brand India’ label sitting proudly on the signboards outside those 12000+ restaurants?
2. Now that the contribution of British-Bangladeshis to the UK economy is getting noticed and acknowledged day by day, can we risk stripping off the hired country brand from those signboards? Will this have any negative impact on the brand loyalty, brand perception etc. for those resturants?

Some scattered incidents, trying to relate them somehow.

You will get to see only a few restaurants in the UK which proudly claims in its exterior that it serves ‘Bangladeshi cuisine’, notably Kolapata in Whitechapel is one of the very few and some others in Bricklane. Ofcourse they don’t serve any Indian (North Indian to be more precise) food there and what they serve is much closer to what we actually eat in Bangladesh. Now its also true that we eat a lot of North Indian food too in our day to day occasions, but when it comes to doing food business overseas, are we letting go an opportunity to uphold the country’s brand (Bangladesh that is) or we are rightly giving the due credit to the actual originator of the food (India), even though the lion’s share of the business are held by Bangladeshis? I don’t know. Please also note that the report in bdnews24.com successfully and tactfully avoids the term ‘India’ or ‘Indian restaurants’.


My colleague once shared a ‘bitter’ experience he once had during his trip to Delhi a few years ago. In a bustling South Delhi restaurant, he once asked the waiter to bring in a ‘balti cuisine’, much to the confusion and uncertainty of the young Indian waiter who had no freaking clue what the white (nearly pink), fat, grey-haired British man was willing to eat. He explained meticulously that it’s that special type of pot in which he used to get served Chicken Tikka Masala in the Indian restaurant in Finchley Road in North London! He was also rather embarrassed thinking of any potential cultural gaffe he could have committed. The waiter remained indifferent to ‘balti’, thinking of how the shower tool ended up on the bewakoof gorey’s table in London. He could however receive well the Chicken Tikka Masala bit and moved on to serve him that, ofcourse not in any ‘balti’ or ‘bodna’ (no Wikipedia entry for ‘bodna’ yet) but on a simple brass made plate.


Moral of the story is, what they eat in North India is not actually what is served generally in the Bangladeshi owned Indian restaurants. Its somehow a mix of whatever that is, a best effort perhaps. It could be because of the fact that none of the chefs or their ancestors were born in or hail from North India, rather they are from the Golden Bengal, from the coast of the mighty Meghna, Surma, Kushiara..United Kingdom of Sylhet that is. Now whether they claim themselves to be Silotis first and foremost and are different from Bangalees/Bangladeshis would require a different blog post from this end. Its very likely they, like you and me, have been fed and bred on a lot of rice, fish, bhorta, dal, shatkora etc. and not on chapati, roti, and the curry-vaganza every day. Nevertheless, these businessmen have certainly brought about a revolution to the curry industry in the UK with their hardwork. Its good that the British government appreciates this fact, but I am sure that the British-Bangladeshi chefs don’t recceive any formal ‘thank you’ from the Indian High Commission in the UK or the diaspora, as other than ensuring a livelihood for themselves, they have ended up pumping up a different country’s brand muscle in the end of the day. I have come across a few Indian restaurants trying to woo European customers claiming that they ‘are not fake Indian restaurants (restaurants owned by Bangladeshis claiming to be serving Indian food) and they serve true Indian food…the taste of India!’. Now what do you say to that?


Amidst all this mud-throwing…balti-throwing etc. between country brand names, I think we should not spoil the food, or let it go cold and stale. In my opinion, the time is here to call a spade a spade. What would possibly go wrong if 12000+ Bangladeshi owned ‘Indian’ restaurants in the UK would decide to put the name of the red and green on the face of their businesses? Food fanatics can go fasting unto death that that food is not actually ‘Bangladeshi then’, but aren’t we in a good position to override those facts and establish the brand Bangladesh on 12000+ physical establishments in the UK? You call it a brand hijack or whatever, I am still all up for it. If the Bangladeshi businessmen were the first ones to have taught the British how to taste curry (Indian curry that is), then I am sure they can be frontiers to treat the British tastebuds to something more authentic, genuine, unique and truly ours….a dose not of dosa…but that of bhorta, dal, bhaat and the likes. Gelam. Khida lege gese.

New TV Channels for Bangladeshi media...what about businesses?

Congratulations! We have 10 more new TV channels vying for some space in our television sets and living rooms. Check out the list here to find out what these new channels are called and who the 'visionaries' are behind setting up these.
Personally I have got over those days when we used to follow McGyver or Ayomoy or any other Humayun Ahmed drama serials in the Bangladesh Tele Vision (BTV), as we as viewers did not have any other choice. Until the day when satellite TV made its entry and till now when we have a plethora of TV channels springing up, imagine how fragmented our attention has become and how shorter our attention span is becoming day by day. How many programs you actually follow in one or more Bangladeshi channels these days which is sticky enough to make you come back and follow it week after week? Ofcourse I am not against allowing newer TV channels to come up, its just that the trend shows the genre of people who are setting these up, what their agenda might be in future and the audience they are going to target soon with their broadcasting prowess.

Its all either ruling party or opposition politicians, controversial businessmen who have cases of corruption and political affiliations against them or religious opinion leaders who have the required money and the contacts to come up with new TV channels. It reflects the general interest of viewership of our audience perhaps, or the intention of those who are in power and who hold the money to influence that viewership. So we get to watch a lot of political talk shows, religious shows and a whole range of drama serials pretty much based on same plots and banalities.

What is still missing from this rising trend of TV channels is undoubtedly any dedicated source of information, edutainment and infotainment based on business topics of Bangladesh. Wonder if its too early to dream of a TV channel promoting Bangladeshi business issues, entrepreneurship, innovation, achievements, skills development shows, company profiles, business debates, corporate culture shows, interviews of business champions, entrepreneurs etc. Is it too early to ask for a special focus on Bangladeshi corporates and brands in the form of a full fledged TV channel? With half of the population full of young and would be business leaders and entrepreneurs, do you think there is no market for such a channel?

Its common knowledge that the media of a country plays a pivotal role in shaping up the national psyche of a nation. First and foremost emphasis on politics, religion and entertainment only are required ofcourse to fill up the whole gamut of services, however, I wonder why Bangladesh corporate would be deemed so negligible so as not to deserve any attention in terms of a specialised media channel? Its imperative that we make use of the media (traditional and new) to raise awareness of our business topics, brands, culture, challenges and opportunities and make it cross the border please.

Would David Rowe get a job in Bangladesh?

Some claimed that economic recession was the best time for innovation, to have a fresh look at things, new ways of doing old stuff. Now that included the way you used to hunt for jobs too. With so many people losing jobs everyday across the western world, many still thought to be innovative in the way they go about looking for a suitable career in these times of uncertainty. David Rowe, a graduate of University of Kent, pulled out a publicity stunt for himself by posing as a mobile billboard seeking a job in the busy streets of London. He was even offering would be employers free employment for the first month so that they could ‘try’ him before paying or firing him. Times are hard and so are getting jobs.

However, his stunt seemed to have paid off finally as he has recently been landed a job at JCDecaux, one of the largest outdoor ad companies of the world, after the Managing Director of the company spotted him in the street ‘self-advertising’ for a job. The angelic MD thought that the way David had promoted and branded himself against all odds, taking advantage of the right context and right times (recession) was unique and innovative. He believes that David could be a good asset for his company as he has innovative advertising skills. So far so good for David.

Remember warning signs in some stunt related TV serials which says ‘Don’t try this at home!!’? I wonder if any desperate souls ever try this at Mohakhali flyover or in the busy streets of Motijheel, what the reaction would be? We are a curious nation by birth…we gather around any gathering even if all might be gazing at vaccum, or a Sony TV showroom or anything unusual in the streets of Dhaka. So if someone ever attempts similar stunts in the quest to look for a job, rest assured there would be a good number of curious onlookers, passersby, sympathisers around him (or her?). Who knows such an act might incite the likes of Munni Saha and gang to show up for a spot interview or some media frenzy. So if a suit wearing job hunter ever does this in Dhaka, what are the chances that he actually might end up getting a dream job (forget about dreams, any job would do under those circumstances)? I don’t know really, it can go either way, given the Hujug Nation as we are, he might become the next best thing in Bangladeshi media for a while. However, for a female jobhunter, I don’t think this stunt might be useful in the context of Bangladesh. Since we are also a nation of Google Memory when it comes to tracing back the ins and outs of every women in limelight, such a stunt by a jobhuntress would have detrimental effects for her in society (for future marriage proposals etc.). Pun intended.

In the end of the day, I hope we don’t even have to think about going to such extremes. So much of time, money from parents have been dedicated to get ourselves education, all for the sake of earning a decent bread and butter and for living with dignity. However, the take away from David Rowe’s stunt remains…that even during crisis, don’t let go your sense of creativity, innovation, uniqueness, determination and self-branding. Good luck always with your job hunts. Hope we don't have to do a David Rowe in the streets of Dhaka.

The Role of Stock Recommendation

I wonder how we can get together and work for common purpose to improve many things that we do for living, obliviously we would come up with millions of things are not going right comparing to developed countries. Many dreams are never formed but thrown away to the air as soon as hopes are never seen lightened in our lives. Developments, progress and achievements are rarely seen here compare to many other countries where every five years you will not recognize the place due to economic growth, developments and implementing new systems. It's all about changing, and work together for continuous improvements. Before changing anything to outer-world we need to change our minds and attitudes toward progress, changes have to come within ourselves and apply inside to outside environment, and also firm believer in order to see greater affect and progress in what we do for living.

I know you are confused with changes and stock recommendation, but let me share partly one of letters with you that was sent out to brokerage/financial firms in Bangladesh in the month of Ramadan to engage them into stock recommendation process, and of course, the intention of this is to work together in the direction of setting Bangladesh Stock Market to systematic market system and attracting more professional analysts into analyzing companies in order to provide recommendations.such great works can be rewarded with performance-based approach. Market needs professional analysts' involvement in order to uphold the image of Bangladesh stock market. Here is a letter--

"So far, over 800 people registered with www.bdstock.com within last three months of period and most of them have showed great interest of receiving recommendation in the process of registration. They are eager to receiving some guidance in the selection of specific companies' share which perceive greater value based on out-perform/market-perform, great earnings, performance-based management, etc. or opposite of all these to sell stocks.

How much investors depend on analysts' report? Probably more than what you expect because either a person is a beginner or a pro as an investor. And people around the world always rely on a whole set of decision making processes to pick the best stocks. This decision making task is a part of a daily process for market analysts in order to select a list of good stocks. The analysts conduct extensive research on companies' annual reports, corporate governance, management behavior & expertise, company's competitive advantages, new contracts for selling products, new deals, company news, innovative new ideas and so many others. A good analyst report should serve the purpose of better understanding the status of a company's growth to justify if a company's outlook is positive to buy or negative to sell stocks. Analysts' reports remain a valuable tool and offer credible information about a company for investors as long as they are diligently and independently done. Reviewing analysts' recommendations gives investors a better idea of what professional analysts think about a stock. Thus, when an analyst initiates coverage of a stock, it opens the door to thousands of investors who may never have heard of the stock before. In this way adding a company to a recommendation list brings awareness of a stock which translates to increased demand. This kind of research can be extremely expensive and time consuming but the analysts' work can be rewarded by selling research reports to local as well as global investors and establish a reputation in the market through the accuracy of performance on the stocks recommendations.

As we know, recommendations are found everywhere in the U.S. Stock market. Thousands of recommendations appears on a daily basis through financial websites, TV news and other media ranging from a small brokerage firm to world class companies like Merrill Lynch or Goldman Sachs. In short, the analyst buys & sells ratings and earnings forecasts shown on many financial sites which contain important information that could help investors making better investing decisions at the same time brokerage firms can charge for providing valuable research information.

The Bangladesh stock market is still new in comparison to the size of the capital market with other stock markets in the world and also has new investors who are involved in stock market investing for the first time in their lives, what I mean saying is fathers of this generation or grand-fathers never heard of stock market although their children involve in stock market. It's a new generation of fresh-minded individuals who feel the stock market is a great investment place that is no less than in real estate, fixed deposit in a Bank or buying gold for investments. Just because a new face of stock market and its investors, it requires guidance and systematic process of involvement by all financial institutions and brokerage firms to upgrade the image of the Bangladesh stock market. Just as many brokerage firms involve in recommendations, market Analysts who publish all or part of valuable research would give more control and direction to the investors and boost professionalism, importantly overcoming rumors on stocks often created by individuals or groups of people shorting those stocks just to reach their own objectives. Recommendation should be advised from professional individual (maybe required license by completing specific course in the future) and institution as any other country we see in stock market.

As you are an analyst or security firm owner, we invite you to take a look at our stock recommendation page at www.bdstock.com/recommend.php to discover all the facilities available for recommending stocks either to buy, sell or hold. This will enable you to be part of the recommendation process and ensure involvement in other news activities, thereby getting your company spot lighted in the market. Most importantly, it will enable you to reach long term objectives in the market growth strategies and attract more investors in local as well as global long-term profit making that will show favorable in the professional environment with a proven systematic marketing system. The vast majority of investors who use a systematic process, usually have a better understanding and confidence in the market. That will only happen when we are able to create a professional environment collectively, being accountable with the emphasis on doing excellent work in analyzing (risk-based rewarded), predicting and maintaining a high-standard of accuracy in recommendations.

Please join with recommendation process by creating your account with bdstock.com at http://www.bdstock.com/account.php page, and then email us with your Email address and name of your firm to webmaster@bdstock.com. Then we will email you back with details information that your account is ready for recommendation. You have a list of choices like under-perform, neutral, hold, strong buy or sell, market perform and etc. Once specific account is assigned to individual firm you have access to your own recommendation for update, delete or create."

It is unfortunate that only a few firms have taken this letter seriously and emailed me for details information. However, I am still hopeful in way that some day there will be a systematic process in Bangladesh Stock Market, and some developments will be taken place that we may be able to say we complete the marathon, although we are in the last place in the competition of global financial market improvements.

by Kabir Ahmed (www.bdstock.com)