I started Shabab Leather in the year 2016. Before this, I used to teach Accounting and I wished to become a banker after completing my MBA. I did apply to a few banks but it didn’t work out like how I hoped it to. So, by then, the willingness to be in this profession just died down. At the same time, I did not want to continue working as a teacher, I wanted to do something more challenging. So, I worked at two buying houses after this. However, this too took a turn. I never got any days off. I even had to work on Fridays and the hours were too long. So, I left this job as well since I have two babies at home waiting for me. 

Do you want to know who inspired me to get into this business? It was my bad luck. As you know, we are just a middle-class family, so we are always thinking of how to earn more while continuing our jobs. My husband had several friends outside the country, and sometimes they required caps, aprons, and other products, so we would supply all these to them. So, this one friend from Japan wanted to get into business with my husband. It was a partnership and we opened up a small factory here in Bangladesh. Shipments were all successful, and we were profiting from it. So, my husband wanted to take over and offered his friend to sell his share of the business. But his friend said, there was one last shipment, which was worth more than our previous shipments. Because he was our partner, we trusted him and sent him the products. He said he would pay us after receiving the shipment and 9 months went by and he never paid us our money. The only thing he did was sell his share of the factory. But by this time, we were heavily indebted to the banks. 

We sold our land in Keraniganj to try and pay back some of the loans. I sold my gold jewelry, and machinery, broke down FDR, and with the combined money, started Shabab Leather with just 5 employees. Currently, I have around 50 employees and I am happy to say that I never had to look back after starting this business. I export to 9 countries in total. Some of these countries are- Japan, Italy, Canada, Spain, and Singapore. I am trying to export to Morocco as well. While I get to ship my products using my own brand name, in Bangladesh, other brands outsource their products from me but sell them with their brand’s name.  And this is something I want to change. In addition to exporting my products and selling them through retail outlets, I also sell my products on online platforms like Daraz, BelaObela, and Oikko.com. 

During Covid, these online platforms helped me tremendously to run my business. I did not stop manufacturing during this hard time, I kept making products, and gradually, they piled up. I sold these online and survived the first wave. I also received a huge order from Spain which overall helped me get back on my feet. 

SwissContact approached me during a factory visit, and that’s how I got to know about LightCastle Partners. I learned the importance of online marketing and online selling, for which I will always remain grateful. My dream is to make sure everyone in Bangladesh recognizes the name Shabab Leather, just like Apex and Bata. I invite you all to visit my factory someday. However, one thing I would like to attest to is that our story might be very inspiring to listen to and looks very good on pen and paper. But the reality is not that beautiful. I had to overcome a lot of obstacles to reach this stage in my life and only I know how it felt like going through those struggles and hardships in real life. I hope I can do justice to myself by always growing and reaching newer heights through Shabab Leathers.