9 Bangladeshis on Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list

Nine Bangladeshis have been named in the ninth edition of its ‍‍`30 Under 30 Asia‍‍` list by the prestigious Forbes magazine.

The list features 300 young entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators under the age of 30 who are driving change and innovation across the Asia-Pacific region. The honourees represent diverse fields, including arts, technology, media, finance, and more.

This year, the nine Bangladeshis individuals have been recognised for their contributions to various fields.

They are: Anusha Alamgir, Mehedi Shoron, Redwan Ahmed, MD Shahidul Islam, Abdul Gaffar Sadi, MD Tushar, Sultan Moni, Mumtahina Anika and Fahad Ahmed.

Anusha has been featured in the Arts category. Holding a master‍‍`s degree in architecture from the Royal College of Art in London, Alamgir was the sole female Bangladeshi exhibitor at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2023 Venice Biennale. Her film ‍‍`Porda,‍‍` addressing Muslim veiling practices, gained significant attention. Alamgir‍‍`s work spans sculpture, painting, photography, and performance, and she also founded the online thrift store Colors Dhaka.

Shoron, co-founder of HelloTask, has been recognised in the Consumer Technology category. HelloTask is an app that offers hourly bookings, monthly subscriptions, and safety features for domestic maids. The company has secured funding from investors and grants from the World Bank and Oxfam. HelloTask aims to expand its workforce to 100,000 maids by 2025 and explore international markets.

Redwan, an award-winning freelance journalist, has been listed in the Media, Marketing and Advertising category. His notable work includes coverage of the Rohingya crisis and investigations into the exploitation of garment factory workers. Ahmed co-founded the Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, an organisation dedicated to protecting local journalists.

Shahidul, Sadi, and Tushar have been featured in the Finance and Venture Capital category. They jointly founded Drutoloan, a  Dhaka-based startup that assists micro and small businesses in obtaining loans by simplifying paperwork and assessing creditworthiness. Since its establishment in 2019, Drutoloan has disbursed over $2 million in loans and raised $125,000 in pre-seed funding.

Moni and Anika, co-founders of Zatiq, have been recognised in the Finance and Venture Capital category. Zatiq provides software and hardware solutions to help small companies manage accounting. The company also offers tools for small businesses to create e-commerce websites. In August, Zatiq raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding.

Fahad, co-founder of Wind.App, has been honoured in the Finance and Venture Capital category. Wind.App uses blockchain technology and stablecoins to facilitate faster and cheaper cross-border remittances. The startup secured $3.8 million in pre-seed funding. Prior to Wind, Ahmed was part of the founding team at Pathao, where he launched various services.