1. Tell us about yourself like your education, youth, hobbies interests, etc.

I was born in Karachi and moved to Bangladesh, before our liberation war. My first school was St. Francis Xavier Convent School. I passed my SSC from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College and HSC from Holy Cross Girl’s College. I continued pursuing further education in Dhaka University, where I completed my bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Public Administration. It was a rollercoaster journey for me, as I got married in my early life. I could not enjoy my university life to the fullest, and on top of that, it was getting increasingly difficult with two children, especially before my Master’s degree. My daughter was born when I was doing my Bachelor’s and my son was born during my Master’s. Of course, my husband and my in-laws gave me immense support, otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible. 

Hobbies change with age. In my childhood, collecting stamps and coins was a hobby, but in school I slowly got involved in so many extracurricular activities. I was involved with Girls Guide and Junior Red Cross which made me enjoy the leadership activities. I was very much into sports and into all the sports which boys used to play. I was a Tomboy at that time, used to roam around Dhaka city with my bicycle, and even climbed walls to steal fruits from trees and gardens. I am fond of pets as well. Now the best way I pass my leisure time is with my grandkids. They are my inspiration to enjoy a long life.

2. You started your career with Singapore Airlines back in 1989. Since it was quite new at that time for you how did you cope up with that?

My Mom was a working woman and seeing her going out in the morning and coming back in the evening was a life I did not want to have, which led me to think that I will get married and have kids and live happily. However, things changed after my Master’s program. While my friends were studying for the BCS exam, I wanted to choose a different path and applied to various international airlines. The search ended when I got a call from Singapore Airlines, which was my life’s first interview.Right after the interview, they asked if I could join them the next day. It shocked me, and I needed to consult my husband. I was worried about my children who were only 5 and 6 years old then. My husband encouraged me to join without giving the opportunity a second thought.

I did not know how a working woman’s life works, and so I made mistakes and learned from them. At the beginning I used to be dominated by my male colleagues, but by the grace of Allah, I took myself to such a position that people used to say , “ Oh Sangeeta the lady from Singapore Airlines”. Now, I am in the service industry, and I believe that the 19 years that I worked in Singapore Airlines has really taught me how to handle customers and everything which has helped me in my business career. 

3. What motivated you to enter into the food business?

While I was working in Singapore Airlines my husband and I used to go to Time Out a lot to eat and to have some good time with friends. It was a very known and popular café. My friend Sangita and her sister Samy were the owners of Time Out. After a year they had to leave the place as Pink City was to be built there. Then in 2005, I joined them as a partner, and opened Time Out again in Gulshan 1. I started learning business from her. I was doing office and business together. My regular routine was after office, change uniform and head to Time Out straight. We worked with our staff as waiters and believe me, we never felt bad about it at all. We served food, cleaned the tables and everything – and this captured the clients’ attention. Food industry is also a part of the service industry. Alhamdulillah, we 3 have been successfully working together for the past 15 years.

4. You also started Divine Beauty Lounge a few years back, what encouraged you to enter such a different industry?

At that time, there weren’t any makeover studios and girls used to do makeovers at home. Even in my wedding, I didn’t get ready from a makeover studio. “Chino” who was very famous at that time, did my hair only. Sometimes I used to do makeover on brides in my neighborhood. Being an entrepreneur, I entered into this line because I wanted to explore something new. With that desire, I got into the glamour world and am still trying to gain success. 

5. As a treasurer of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, describe the roles that you play there.

We conduct quite a number of training programs for the women in various fields so that they can become empowered and work for themselves. This is not only Dhaka base, we do it in different districts in Bangladesh. We receive funds from different donor agencies and the government for different projects. So I have to be very careful and keep a proper track of the fund and monitor if these funds are using for the right causes.  

The role is very crucial and equally stressful. I consistently cross check everything. In simple words, it’s a very responsible post and I believe I am doing my job properly as a treasurer, Alhamdulillah.

7. What are the projects that you are currently involved in at BWCCI? 

We have few ongoing projects. 

A . Skills for Employment Program [ SEIP ]

This project is funded by the Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, Asian Development Bank and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. This project has covered a total of 2625 women till now from 9 districts and they are being trained in different skills required for industry sectors like Beautification, Fashion Designing, Food and Beverage production, Mobile servicing and IT outsourcing.  

B. Gender Dimensions of Trade Facilitation Agreement: Evidence from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. This is funded by CUTs International, DFID- UK.

C. Skill based training for SMEs.

BWCCI is providing skill based training in different districts of Bangladesh to enhance the women entrepreneur’s skills through this project, funded by SME Foundation.

D. Promoting Democratic Participation in the Digital Economy [ PDPDE ]

The main objective of the project is to identify the prevailing challenges and concerns raising awareness of women entrepreneurs on digital economy and advocacy for overcoming the challenges.

E. Promoting Democratic Participation of women in the Access to Credit [ PDPAC ]

The main objective of this project is to sensitize the bank officials and increase the capacity of women entrepreneurs for easy access to bank loans towards inclusive and sustainable economic growth of the country.

8. How is BWCCI contributing to women empowerment and in our society?

We help women to get on their feet so that they can be empowered and can contribute in their family and also to society. Our work is not only in Dhaka but also we work in the rural area. Our goal is to empower women and help them be financially stable.

We teach them how all the paper works need to be done, how to open a bank account, take loans, develop a business, create marketing plans and also prepare documents, such as business proposals. We do advocacy and also mentoring others. So you can say that we play a very big role in the empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

9. As the Director of the India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, what are your roles there?

Our main work is to increase bilateral trades. We receive a good number of opportunities from Indian businessmen who are interested just like us. The main function of the bilateral chambers is to increase business opportunities among two countries. We organize trade fairs, workshops, seminars where several organizations from India come to meet business people in Bangladesh.

10. How is the India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce mutually helping both Bangladesh and India to benefit the business?

Well, this Chamber wants to create more business opportunities with India and vice versa. Sometimes companies face problems while running businesses, so chambers try best to do the needful to solve those problems. 

11. Since you are involved in multiple sectors, which role you did you enjoy the most?

I miss Singapore Airlines a lot. I enjoyed my time working with SIA.  

The work was really fun but challenging at the same time.

12. What’s the secret to your productive multitasking and how do you balance them all?

First secret is enjoyment. If you enjoy your work, you’ll be able to work effortlessly. I always organize my work the night before. I keep a notepad and maintain my schedule. When there is a lot of work, I prioritize them and do the important ones first. It is definitely hectic but I’m passionate about my work so it’s all done with a happy mind.  

13. What are some memorable experiences that helped you build up your career?

My boss at Singapore Airlines was a workaholic and so was I.  He used to say that “whatever you do, do it with passion and don’t look back. Many people will try to pull you down, but you need to rise above it.” I also learned from the people of Singapore. Their hard work and dedication was a motivation for me. 

I can share one memory from my Singapore Airline days. One day a 10-year-old boy and his father came to us with eye injury and he needs to be operated on immediately in Singapore. His father was literally crying at the counter and somehow, by the Grace of Allah, I was able to manage visas for them by the help of our country manager and they were able to board on that same night. I had to do a lot of running and paper work for that, but at the end I could help them.   Later he came to our office with his son to thank me. This is a very small thing, but this made huge impacts on me.  There are so many memories which motivated me to move forward.

14. What message would you like to give to the current youth of our country?

Patience is the key word of success. Today’s generation don’t have the patience to deal with failures. They want to grow fast. They must focus on whatever they want to do in life and should concentrate to achieve the goal. I have observed that the current generation changes their jobs countless times to move fast. They should also be positive and love themselves to gain more confidence. It is important to be confident, but not egoistic. At work there can be differences in opinion among colleagues but nobody should take these personally rather take these professionally to move forward. Also, the youth needs to read more books, the more you read, the more knowledge you gain. I have hopes on them and I know they will do their best to choose the right path.