Entrepreneur

A BIOGRAPHY OF SHEIKH AKIJUDDIN

SHEIKH AKIJUDDIN

BIOGRAPHY OF SHEIKH AKIJUDDIN
(Entrepreneur, Businessman, Industrialist and Social worker)
(1929 – 10th October 2010)

A BIOGRAPHY OF SHEIKH AKIJUDDIN

Sheikh Akijuddin, (1929-2006) industrialist, entrepreneur, and social worker, was born in the village Madhyadanga under Fultalaupazila of Khulna in 1929. His mother’s name is Matina Begum. His father Sheikh Mofijuddin was an ordinary local trader and led a very humble life. Sheikh Akijuddin was the only child of his parents as his father was also the only son of his grandparents. He was admitted into a school, but used to remain away from the school, as he was required to give time to his father’s business. The economic distress of the family led him to earn for the family. During the Great Famine of 1942-43, he left home and reached Calcutta in search of a job or business.

Having no relatives in Calcutta, Akij made the Shialdah Railway Station his shelter. He used to search for some kind of work all through the day and at night would return to the platform of the station to sleep using bricks as a pillow under his head. The day he got a cleaning job at Zakariya Hotel became the point of his rise in fortune. One day, when he was passing through Ramlochan Street, he observed that some mobile retailers purchased fruits from the street sellers at auction and sold those to different parts of the city. This process attracted him and he started this humble business and started living on his own. After seeing how successful grocery stores were in Calcutta, Sir Akijuddin decided to open a store called Nilamwala Chhay Ana. The shopkeepers there would recite Hindi rhymes while selling their goods. Police apprehended him one day, and the court sentenced him to three days in prison and a fine of Rs five. He sold all of his ostensible company goods after being released from prison. In the meantime, sir Akijuddin met a Peshawari businessman and traveled to Peshawar with him for two years. He returned to Calcutta with a tiny amount of money to establish a business.

He gained a small fortune of about ten thousand rupees from this business and returned home to visit his parents, but they did not live long enough to witness their magnificent son rise through the ranks of society. At the age of 19, Akijuddin married Sakhina Khatun.

Bidhu Bhushan, a friend of his father’s, was famous at the time for his patent Bidhu Bidi, and Sir Akijuddin met him. In 1952, then began producing bidis (cigarettes) with his assistance. He also opened a grocery store near the Bezerdanga rail station. He profited from both of them. Aakij Bidi was the name he gave to his bidi. He began printing labels for his bidi in 1954. His brand gained a lot of traction quickly. The bidi business continued to thrive unchecked. By 1960-62, his bidi factory had grown to 250 employees. Akijuddin expanded his business to include rice, jute, and paddy, among other products. By 1972, Akij had amassed a sizable sum of money that he could put to better use. Currently, he is the founder of the Akij Group, an industrial conglomerate. The Akij Group gained money and expanded its operations. By 1998, the Akij Group had gathered the following industrial units under its umbrella: SAF Industries Limited, Dhaka Tobacco Industries Limited, Akij Printing and Packaging Limited, Akij Transport Agencies Limited, Navaron Printing and Packaging Limited, Jess Pharmaceutical Limited, Akij Match Factory Limited, Akij Jute Mills Limited, Akij Cement Company Limited, Akij Textiles Mills Limited, Akij Housing Limited. Approximately 32,000 people. The outstanding philanthropist and entrepreneur died on October 10, 2006, at the age of 77

Name: Akijuddin, Sheikh
Profession:
➤ Entrepreneur
➤ Businessman
➤ Industrialist
➤ Social worker
Date of Birth: 1929
Birth Place: Khulna, Fultalaupazila, village Madhyadanga
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Religion: Islam
Education: Admitted into a school
Father: Sheikh Mofijuddin
Mother: Matina Begum
Spouse: Sakhina Khatun
Children: 15 children
Years Active: 1942-1996
Died: October 10, 2006
Dying Age: 77 age
Dying Place: Singapore

Early Life :

Sheikh Akijuddin was born in the hamlet of Madhyadanga in Khulna’s Fultala upazila in 1929. Matina Begum is his mother’s name. Sheikh Mofijuddin, his father, was a common local businessman who lived a simple existence. Sheikh Akijuddin was his parent’s only child, and his father was also his grandparents’ only son. He got accepted into a school, but he used to miss classes since he was forced to work in his father’s company. Because of the family’s financial difficulties, he decided to work. He left home and traveled to Calcutta in quest of work or a business during the Great Famine of 1942-43. Due to the poverty-stricken condition of the family, Akij Uddin did not get any formal schooling during his childhood.

Career:

While hunting for a job, Akijuddin slept at the Sealdah railway station in Kolkata. He once witnessed bananas being auctioned off to merchants by shops. He opened Nilamwala Chhay Ana (Auctioneer six ana) in Kolkata, where everything cost six ana. After being arrested and punished, he liquidated his possessions in Kolkata. He relocated to Peshawar, where he resided for two years. He returned to Kolkata with some money he had obtained in Peshawar.

He launched a small company in Kolkata, which he eventually sold and returned to Phultala with ten rupees. He met Bidhu Bhushan, a friend of his father’s who used to make Beedi (hand-rolled cigarettes). In 1952, Akijuddin began producing beedi with Bhushan’s assistance. Along with his beedi plant, he built a grocery store. He began selling them under the Akij Beedi label in 1954. In 1972, the enterprises were consolidated as the Akij group.

Socio-cultural activities:

The Akij Group is involved in a variety of socio-cultural activities. The group has been running a large orphanage in the district town for free. In addition, the Group has purchased a contemporary mother-and-child hospital that was previously held by Save the Children (UK). Ad-din Welfare Centre and Ad-Din Foundation, which Sir Akijuddin formed with the inspiration and participation of another social crusader, Professor Mohammad Sharif Husain, run the hospital as a not-for-profit organization.

Contribution:

Sir Sheikh Akij Uddin has made a huge contribution to Bangladesh’s jute and tobacco sectors. Akij Uddin has always conducted business with integrity and sincerity. Starting with the raw materials, he has placed a greater emphasis on the highest quality products. He has used a modern marketing strategy in product distribution and supply chain from the outset, in addition to product quality. He has taken the commercialization of his product seriously in the society of the moment because he believes that if the quality of the product is good, the consumer would find out for himself. Also, anytime Sir Akijuddn enters a new industry, he invests heavily from the outset. His efforts have been beneficial. He was a social service pioneer, as well as a pioneer in the industry. She launched the Ad-Din Foundation in 1980, and in 2008, a 500-bed Ad-Din Women’s Medical College Hospital was opened in Dhaka’s Maghbazar. This foundation also oversees several additional medical schools, hospitals, nursing facilities, schools, and colleges across the country. The Akij Group’s influence to the country’s economy is likewise indisputable. The Akij Group paid Tk 3228.95 crore in taxes in the 2012-13 fiscal year. Furthermore, Akij’s Tobacco Concern, which was sold to Japan Tobacco in 2018, was valued at 1.48 billion US dollars at the time, or more than Tk 12,000 crore, making it the largest foreign direct investment in Bangladesh’s history.

Legacy:

Sheikh Akij founded the Akij Group, which is an industrial giant. The Akij Group was able to increase its profits and expand its activities. The Akij Group has grouped the following industrial entities under its umbrella by the year 1998:
Akij Printing and Packaging Limited (1974),
Akij Transport Agencies Limited (1980),
Navaron Printing and Packaging Limited (1980),
Jess Pharmaceutical Limited (1986),
Akij Match Factory Limited (1992),
Akij Jute Mills Limited (1994),
Akij Cement Company Limited (1995),
Akij Textiles Mills Limited (1995),
Akij Housing Limited (1997).

Death:

On October 10, 2006, Akijuddin passed away in Singapore. His age was 77.

Sheikh Akijuddin was a successful entrepreneur who will be remembered forever for Intelligence, hard work, kindness

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এই ওয়েবসাইটের সমস্ত বিষয়বস্তু সরল বিশ্বাসে এবং শুধুমাত্র সাধারণ তথ্যের উদ্দেশ্যে প্রদান করা হয়েছে। একটি জীবনী তথ্যের সম্পূর্ণতা, নির্ভরযোগ্যতা বা সঠিকতা সম্পর্কে কোন গ্যারান্টি দেয় না। এই ওয়েবসাইটের উপাদানের ফলস্বরূপ আপনি যে কোনও পদক্ষেপ গ্রহণ করেন তা সম্পূর্ণরূপে আপনার নিজের ঝুঁকিতে। একটি জীবনী আমাদের ওয়েবসাইট ব্যবহার করার ফলে কোনো ক্ষতি বা ক্ষতির জন্য দায়ী নয়।

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