United We Stand
COO of Aamra Networks Ltd. gives us the down-low on the biggest ISP of Bangladesh
Will you please tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born in 1974 to a military family. My father was an army officer and was honored with a Bir Protik award for his contribution in the Liberation War. My mother was an entrepreneur. My childhood was not like my peers. I had to change 7 schools before I went to Faujdarhat Cadet College for 7th to 12th grade. My sister and I had to go through a lot of changes until we both were admitted to IBA for BBA at Dhaka University.
My friends and I had entrepreneurial streaks and we started a coaching center when we were in our 2nd year of studies at IBA, in 2 years, the business had transformed into a computer assembly center. Soon enough, our company was acquired by Access Telecom Ltd in 2001. In 2003 I joined Aamra Networks Limited (formerly Global Online Services Limited). My wife Dr Selina Laiwala is a senior member of the Medical Services Department of Apollo Hospitals Dhaka.
You have served Aamra in various roles, starting from Sales Manager to now being the COO. Describe this journey for us.
I joined Aamra in August 2003 as a sales manager and soon I was made Head of Sales for Marketing. Over the years I rose steadily up the ranks from AGM to DGM and finally reached the position of Chief Operating Officer for Aamra Networks Limited in 2009. In 2011, I was given an additional responsibility for Aamra Technologies Limited. When I joined the company in August 2003, it was a small family owned company. Currently, it is valued at Tk500 crore and both the companies are publicly listed. We owe this phenomenal growth to our visionary directors and the outstanding team we have here at Aamra and it has been an absolute pleasure to see the company grow over a period of 15 years.
What is the most challenging and rewarding aspect of your job?
As a company, Aamra is what you would call a ‘trend-setter’ in this industry. We are not a company which follows a standard, rather we set new standards for the industry for the incumbent firms to adhere to. This is how the industry perceives Aamra and therefore, any technological changes that occur, and they do occur very frequently, force us to stay ahead of the game. Since we are positioned as industry leaders it is important for us to dedicate ourselves to come up with new products or new ways of doing business before anyone else does and this is what keeps us on our feet and thus it also the greatest challenge we face.
And the most rewarding aspect of the job is that the Chairman and Managing Director of Aamra, Syed Faruque Ahmed and Syed Farhad Ahmed, are extremely entrepreneurial and they encourage and appreciate entrepreneurial instincts in every employee. Trust in the skill sets, integrity and experiences of each member keeps each of us motivated and inspired. The concept of micro-managing does not exist in our vocabulary which ensures this is a completely delegated environment. Corporate hierarchy is also absent in Aamra, where we believe in working as equals; like our motto, we believe in ‘The Power of We’. Unlike many employees of other firms, the employees of Aamra are excited about coming to work and making changes.
In recent years there has been a huge surge of corporate internet providers and IT and communication service providers in Bangladesh. What sets Aamra apart from its competitors?
First of all, as a company we do not go by the book, we do not think and work the way others do. We are an IT company where we try to attract the best brains in the industry and strive to come up with solutions for continuously emerging problems and also challenge the industry with new ways of doing business. We do our best to keep our promises and are honest regarding every situation. Our commitment extends to more than just providing internet and also provide the best solution at the time of a crisis. For the last 2-3 years we have been victims of our own growth. Even 5 years ago, we didn’t realize the industry would grow to this extent or this rapidly. But we are surely giving our best to hold our position as market leaders.
Working in an ISP is very much like being a goalkeeper in a football match. They are not in the limelight as much as strikers are. Goalkeepers are never appreciated for stopping the goals but they are under fire when they concede a goal. Customers are mostly inured to us 99.9% of the time when the internet lines are working but the 0.1% of time there is the slightest hiccup, we are at the receiving end of a lot of grief. It seems like we can deal without electricity and water supply for hours but if there is a break in internet connection, all hell breaks loose.
Bangladesh has a unique startup culture which has its own challenges and prospects. What is your take on this?
I do not feel that I am qualified to comment on this, but I will answer this question from what I have observed of startups in Dhaka. In our country, the new startups are mostly focusing on furthering their company instead of focusing on the product itself. Smaller startups are more concerned with attracting more funds. What they do not realize is that if their product is unique, the investments will flow in itself. I suppose this will come with maturity as I heard Silicon Valley went through a similar phase. Hence if I were to advise them, it would be to simply say that focus on your product and introduce something innovative and unique for the country.
Where do you see the communication service provider industry in the next 5 years? Where does Aamra fit in this picture?
Firstly, what we forget at times is that Bangladesh is the 8th largest country in the world in terms of population. We are a country of 165 million packed in 55,000sq miles. In short, it is heaven on earth for the communications business. For instance, Russia has a population of 145 million but they are widely spread out over a vast space. Indonesia has a population of 264 million which is distributed over thousands of islands. Bangladesh is also mostly plain terrain. If we erect a telco tower today, it starts making money tomorrow. We also have one of the highest number of expats working abroad, who contribute to the large amount of remittance flowing into the country. All in all, I foresee the communication industry of Bangladesh growing to be the top 10 in the world in the next 5 years.
As a business, Aamra is leading the industry; we are delivering 20% of the internet bandwidth. To summarize, the natural growth of the country needs very little interference from us. What Aamra needs to ensure is that we stay at the top of our game.
Bangladesh has a scarcity of highly skilled human resource which often translates into importing skilled manpower from abroad. What is the possible cause behind this crisis? How can we mitigate it?
This is completely my opinion, but I believe that the corporate culture in Bangladesh is relatively new to us. I would say that we are the first generation of corporates in Bangladesh. Since our independence, most of the top management positions were filled by foreign nationals. But it has changed a lot in the last few years. You’ll find most of the MNCs who were once lead by foreign nationals, are now being replaced by Bangladeshi executives. Switching jobs often leaves us without enough depth of knowledge on a particular industry.
So if you are talking about fighting this crisis, it will be have to be worked on from both ends. The big corporations need to invest in their employees and the employees in turn need to return the investment by dedicating their career to a single industry.
