Farzana Chowdhury ACII (UK)
Managing Director and CEO Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd.
Farzana Chowdhury ACII (UK), Managing Director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd. (GDIC) is the first female CEO in the Bangladesh’s insurance industry and has been heading Green Delta’s insurance activities since 2013. Farzana brings with her a wealth of experience in Retail & SME banking, microfinance, micro-insurance, retail insurance, health insurance and other relevant areas. Being at the helm of the largest and leading non-life insurance company in the country, she has played an instrumental role in inspiring her team members and bringing success to her firm. This has helped them introduce innovative, customized insurance products to cater to the needs of various customer segments of the society like women, students, rural poor, RMG workers, migrant workers and so on. She is especially renowned for her commitment to her work for the betterment of women empowerment across the country.
“In Bangladesh, Many Organizations Are Not Very Comfortable About Seeing Women In Top And Important Positions. I Take Pride In The Fact That In Green Delta The Scenario Is Totally Opposite.”
You have been the Managing Director since 2013. Being such a successful business professional would you please tell us about your journey with Green Delta Insurance Company Limited?
My journey in Green Delta Insurance has been pretty amazing so far. In 2013, I took over the position of Managing Director and CEO as the first female CEO of this sector. I launched the first comprehensive insurance scheme for women in Bangladesh named ‘Nibedita’. Nibedita gives trauma allowance for distressed women, covering them from rape, acid violence, road bullying, etc. apart from conventional accidental and other coverage. This product has been recognized by the United Nations Global Compact as I was declared as one of the 10 Local SDG pioneers for working towards ‘Women’s Economic Security’ and Gender Equality. I established the Retail and SME department in Green Delta Insurance as a part of the ‘Insurance for Everyone’ concept. GD Health – a comprehensive health insurance with Global Emergency Medical Evacuation Services was another achievement of mine. Niramoy – Micro insurance for rural people was an innovative and timely project, which I’m really proud of. A similar product is Shudin, which is a micro-insurance scheme for Garments workers. I was invited as a speaker at Bangladesh Garments Industry Conference held at Harvard University, Boston where I spoke about implementing proper insurance policies in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.
Probashi, which is a Comprehensive Insurance Scheme for Migrant Workers is also a pioneering product by Green Delta Insurance. The product was introduced keeping the hard working migrant workers in mind who contribute to our GDP greatly by earning remittance for our country so their security is of utmost importance. Another project worth mentioning is Weather Index Based Agriculture Insurance which is partly funded by IFC.
I took the initiative to set up 2 subsidiaries of Green Delta Insurance. One is Professional Advancement Bangladesh Limited, an affiliation of CII (UK) which offers professional courses on Insurance and other financial sectors and the other subsidiary is GD Assist, which provides value added services for the healthcare industry specializing in Medical tourism. GD Assist has come up with a holistic approach to provide best healthcare solutions.
I was instrumental in achieving the AAA rating for Green Delta Insurance, which became the first insurance company from Bangladesh to win such prestige accolade (for 3 consecutive years). Both Green Delta and I have received numerous local and international awards over the past few years. Among them IFM Award for Best Non-life Insurance Company of Bangladesh, SAFA Award for Best Presented Annual Report, ICAB award for Best Presented Annual Report, World Finance Award for Best Non-Life Insurance Company of Bangladesh, International ARC Award for Best Presented Annual Report, ICSB National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance, World Women Leadership Award were noteworthy.
Recently, we are working with the Health & Welfare Ministry of Bangladesh (Health Economics Unit) for a project titled ‘Shashthya Surakkha Karmashuchi’ (SSK) where Green Delta Insurance is the scheme operator. This is an initiative of Bangladesh Government to bring the Below Poverty Line people of our country under Health Insurance.
Now we are looking into Digital Insurance and working to build a sustainable and ecofriendly environment at our workplace and beyond. We have recently signed with the ICT Division of Bangaldesh Government for digitalization of the insurance sector. We also signed with the A2i of Prime Minister’s Office regarding activating sales of insurance products from 5,000 union digital centers all over the country. More and more initiatives are being taken every day and I leave it up to everyone else to evaluate our success.
“Now, 4 years after becoming the Managing Director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance, the obstacles are not completely gone but I can clearly see people’s acceptance regarding the paradigm shift.”
What are the challenges of working in the insurance sector as the Managing Director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance Company?
Working as the first and the youngest female Managing Director of the insurance industry of the country is no walk in the park. I feel that I had to work twice as hard as a man to achieve this position. As our society is visibly male dominated, there were a lot of people who tried to pull me down and deter my growth. A large number of people didn’t believe I could manage to come this far. So it was a big challenge for me to prove my worth to the world. Then again, there were a good number of men who supported me, encouraged me all throughout my career and made me even more confident. Now, 4 years after becoming the Managing Director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance, the obstacles are not completely gone but I can clearly see people’s acceptance regarding the paradigm shift. The scenario in my office as well as in the industry is slowly changing for the better.
Many women feel discouraged about their employment as a result of the glass ceiling. What is your take on this? Do you go through similar experiences on your way to your current position?
I consider myself very fortunate as I personally never hit a glass ceiling on my way to the current position. I mostly worked with very supportive male colleagues and seniors. However, there were many barriers which I had to overcome by working harder than a man. In Bangladesh, many organizations are not very comfortable about seeing women in top and important positions. I take pride in the fact that in Green Delta the scenario is totally opposite. Not only I, but many other important units and departments are headed by women. I feel big corporates should set examples to change this practice and come forward to create a better work environment for both males and females which will ensure a smooth career path.
Bangladesh is further integrating itself with the global economy on a daily basis. What is your opinion of our position for women in the corporate world? How can we get more female CEOs in the business domain in Bangladesh?
In Bangladesh, the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Speaker of the Parliament are woman. It is a sign that Bangladesh is moving in the right direction in terms of women empowerment. However, the corporate sector should justify this even more. Although we already have a number of prominent female personalities as the movers and shakers of the corporate sector, this number needs grow significantly in the next few years.
More needs to be done before we can realize our dream of empowering every woman in the country as women are still, in general, looked down upon by their male peers when it comes to professional aspects.
What are the main requirements for reducing the gender gap and creating a more equitable work place for any organization?
We need a significant change in the mindset of the employers. While recruiting, generally an employer in our country prefers women for desk jobs. Many areas, especially Sales & Marketing, are seen as male territory. Women in Sales & Marketing are recruited mostly for their looks rather than their skills. We often see job advertisements mentioning gender preferences which is not even legal in many developed countries. Also, an employer should create a secure and healthy work environment which doesn’t pose as any sort of threat for women. There should be strict HR policies to avoid any sort of harassment on women.
“We need a significant change in the mindset of the employers. While recruiting, generally an employer in our country prefers women for desk jobs. Many areas, especially Sales & Marketing, are seen as male territory.”
You’ve launched a number of schemes to help with the development of women in our country. Out of them Nibedita has been highly successful. Can you elaborate on its story?
The main idea behind Nibedita is that women empowerment is the pre-requisite for socio-economic development of a country. Bangladesh, being a developing country with a consistent growing economy has seen a sharp rise in women being more involved in economic activities in both micro and macro levels. As a result issues such as gender equality and women empowerment, amongst others, are widely discussed. This eventually brought the concept of Nibedita to cater to the needs of women and make them more self-dependent.
Besides the traditional accidental coverage areas, Nibedita does cover few extended areas e.g. trauma allowance in case of rape, road bully, robbery, acid victims. The extended coverage also includes loss or damage to household goods/personal effects due to fire/lightening, riots, storm, typhoon, flood, cyclone and earthquake. It does not, however, cover pre-existing disability; death, injury or disablement arising from actions while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs and so on.
Initially launched on a pilot basis in 2013, Nibedita is now officially in the market and attracting a wide array of women from different walks of life. Eminent media personality and successful female entrepreneur, Ms. Shomi Kaiser was the first woman to avail this product. Green Delta felicitated her with an award for being such an encouraging woman. All the women who availed the policy proudly portray the slogan – I’m a Nibedita in various forms of communication materials. Nibedita provides a maximum coverage of Tk 1,000,000 (ten lac) with the minimum net premium of Tk 580 per person (inclusive of VAT) per lac.
So far around 3,000 women have availed the Nibedita scheme to safeguard their future. The policy holders range from university students & housewives to entrepreneurs, corporates, athletes and artists. A good number of policy holders have already been benefited through this scheme. Former Rotary District Governor and eminent personality, Ms. Safina Rahman, got her claims settled promptly after an unfortunate event took place resulting in missing valuables from her residence, thanks to Nibedita as she was a policy holder.
Another case study shows us that a female worker in the Saad Musa Group got compensated after a tragic accident took place and having a Nibedita policy helped her get through the difficult phase of her life.
Nibedita has gone out to the world outside of insurance as well. Nibedita has created a One Stop Service for Women Healthcare, Safety and Social needs to stay beside the women who are in actual need of support in any form. A digital platform has been created for the Nibedita Women which will give them access to a better lifestyle, healthcare and most importantly safety through a mobile app. In the Nibedita mobile app there’s a panic button upon pressing which in times of perils a woman can send instant messages to her friends, family and law enforcement agencies. Recently this panic button has been integrated with the national helpdesk (999). As I’ve mentioned before, the concept of Nibedita has been recognized internationally by UN Global Compact and it is working to bring together women from all walks of life so they can be of help to each other through sharing experiences and best practices.
