Forbes – one of the world’s prestigious business magazines – has published the list of its ninth annual 30 under 30 Asia, Class of 2024 on Wednesday, including nine Bangladeshi rising stars.
The list, in which many Bangladeshi young professionals have made their respective places before, addresses 300 change-makers in 10 categories who are transforming their industries while making positive impacts in society.
These categories are – Entertainment & Sports, Finance & Venture Capital, Enterprise Technology, Media, Marketing & Advertising, Consumer Technology, Industry, Manufacturing & Energy, The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink), Social Impact, Retail & Ecommerce and Healthcare & Science.
Among these, Bangladeshi multidisciplinary artist Anusha Alamgir is listed in The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink) category – award-winning Freelance Journalist Redwan Ahmed has been listed in the Media, Marketing and Advertising category; Mehedi Shoron has been recognised in the Consumer Technology category; and the Finance and Venture Capital category comprised six young-stars including Fahad Ahmed, Sultan Moni, Mumtahina Anika, Md Shahidul Islam, Abdul Gaffar Sadi, and Md Tushar.
Anusha Alamgir
Anusha Alamgir (28) is a Bangladeshi multidisciplinary artist with a Master’s degree in architecture from the Royal College of Art in London. She was the only female Bangladeshi to exhibit in the 18th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2023 Venice Biennale with a film called “Porda” - which means “veil” in Bangla - addressing Muslim veiling practices.
Alamgir’s artistic practices apply architectural concepts to sculpture, painting, photography and performance, while also exploring contemporary issues in Bangladesh such as the female body image and the so-called male gaze.
Her work has been exhibited by the Oitij-jo Collective in London, at the La-La Land Gallery in Los Angeles and the Drik Picture Library in Dhaka. Alamgir is also the founder of the online thrift store “Colours Dhaka.”
Redwan Ahmed
Redwan Ahmed (28) is an award-winning freelance journalist who goes after the biggest stories in Bangladesh.
His coverage of the Rohingya crisis for Agence France-Presse earned him the 22nd Human Rights Press Award and his investigations for the British news outlet The Guardian unveiled the exploitation of Bangladeshi garment factory workers.
Beyond reporting, Redwan co-founded the Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, dedicated to protecting local journalists. Ahmed was named a fellow in the 2021 Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism program.
Mehedi Shoron
Mehedi Shoron (24) is the co-founder of HelloTask, the "Uber for maid service" in Bangladesh. The app offers hourly bookings, monthly subscriptions, verification of the maids it employs, and safety features to protect them from exploitation or violence.
HelloTask has raised funding from investors as well as grants from the World Bank and Oxfam. The company hopes to expand its force of maids to 100,000 by 2025 and explore international markets.
Fahad Ahmed
Fahad Ahmed (25) is the co-founder of “Wind.App,” a cross-border remittance platform that uses block-chain technology and stable-coins to offer faster and cheaper transactions. Founded in 2022, the start-up secured $3.8 million in pre-seed funding led by Global Founders Capital and Spartan Group in November.
Before Wind, Fahad was part of the founding team and head of product at Pathao, where he launched services such as food delivery, payments, and ride-hailing in Bangladesh and Nepal.
A self-taught coder, Fahad earned a bachelor's degree in finance and economics from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka University.
Sultan Moni and Mumtahina Anika
Sultan Moni and Mumtahina Anika co-founded Dhaka-based fintech startup Zatiq, aiming to help small companies better manage their accounting with software and hardware that are easy to adopt.
One example is a business calculator that can be synced with smartphones to track finances and generate reports.
Zatiq also offers a simple way for small businesses to start an ecommerce website. In August, Zatiq raised a $1.6 million pre-seed funding round led by Dekko ISHO Venture Capital.
Abdul Gaffar Sadi, Md Tushar and Md Shahidul Islam
Abdul Gaffar Sadi, Md Tushar and Md Shahidul Islam founded Dhaka-based Drutoloan, which translates to “quick loan” in English.
The company helps micro and small businesses get lending from banks and financing companies, helping them with the paperwork and helping lenders assess creditworthiness. Since starting in 2019, the co-founders said the company disbursed over $2 million in loans. In November it raised $125,000 in pre seed funding.
The 2023 Forbes' 30 under 30 list featured seven Bangladeshi young professionals in different categories.
