“I believe to have declared a battle against the existing culture of plastic usage in Bangladesh and only if, a lot more people join my battalion expressing their solidarity, together we will be able to build a Plastic Pollution Free future for the entire nation.”

Imran Hossain, Founder and CEO, Bright Areca Co. Ltd.

Here is the tale of Mr. Imran Hossain, a 37 years old software Engineer and Business enthusiast in Bangladesh, who dreams of building a green and pollution free nation with his sustainable and ecofriendly business initiatives. Mr. Hossain is the Founder and CEO of one of the leading eco-friendly single use products manufacturing businesses in Bangladesh named “Bright Areca Co. Ltd”. Starting his career as a software engineer, Mr.Hossain eventually found happiness in investing for the conservation of mother nature though his innovative and environment friendly business endeavors.

“Bright Areca”, Founded in 2017, is a renowned name among the biodegradable and environment friendly products manufacturing corporations in Bangladesh. The company is known for the manufacturing of agrowaste based ecofriendly alternatives to single use plastics. It currently manufactures areca leaf made disposable items (plate, bowl and cutleries) that can be used as replacements to conventional single use plastic items available in the markets of Bangladesh.

Within its operation period of just three years, the corporation has managed to gain support and popularity from the consumer group and also from the environmental activists and investors at home and abroad. Today, the name of the company is popular among the young environmental enthusiasts around the country. The corporation’s reputation has already crossed the country border and reached overseas investors. Recently, a Netherland based company has agreed to invest with the corporation’s noble initiative through buying its 10% share. Moreover, Protthashya Program of BRAC has also expressed interest in supporting the company’s ongoing effort in building Plastic pollution free greener future.  Mr. Imran Hossain, founder of the business, has also evolved as a youth inspirator striving to establish ecofriendly disposable product manufacturing business line in Bangladesh.

While talking about the motivation of founding Bright Areca, Mr. Hossain says, “I always have wished to make a pay back to my country as well as to the mother nature, the same way they both had nourished me with their enormous resources since I was born. Nothing could be better than the idea of introducing a business that would not only serve my native people economically but also make contribution towards the conservation of mother nature”.

Hailing from a small village in the Bagerhat district of Bangladesh, Mr. Hossain always had cherished to serve his country people in an unconventional manner.  However, things were not that smooth right from the very beginning of the story. Mr. Hossain pursued his graduation in Computer Science and Engineering from an engineering University in Bagerhat and started his career as a software engineer establishing a Soft-Tech consulting firm of his own. However, his long-cherished dream to do something for the people of the nation soon made him think out of the box. Leaving his uprising career behind, he desperately started looking for a business idea that would provide him the opportunity to safeguard societal wellbeing while not compromising the benefit of mother nature. Within few months of exploration, he came to know about a plant -based single use product (Areca leaf made plates and bowls), made out of a type of agricultural waste abundantly found in Bangladesh. What attracted him the most about the product is that, it would significantly contribute towards addressing one of the major environmental concerns in the contemporary country context- single use plastic pollution. Having found a convincing clue, he immediately made up his mind to commence on a journey from being an engineer to turn into a founder of an ecofriendly business corporation. However, the path ahead was rough but he was adamant to conquer all the odds by dint of his dedication and willpower.

Mr. Hossain took virtual training over internet, bought some machineries from South India with self-funding, set up a factory in his native village in Bagerhat and started manufacturing Areca leaf made disposable items. Preliminary, he had the idea of employing the local men from the village to work in the factory with a view to creating a sustainable livelihood option locally. More than 50 local individuals are either directly or indirectly involved with his business as of now. But later he came across the idea of reaching out to the most vulnerable groups within the community, the women. Back at the time, the women in his village were backward, vulnerable and dependent upon their male counterparts for their living. They were involved only with child raising and other household activities. Mr. Hossain believed that, financial independence of women could help them in improving their condition significantly.  He initially employed 3 female workers from the village which later have grown into a group of total 9 members. The female workers at his factory are now self-reliant and are capable of running their families with their own income. According to the villagers, Mr. Hossain’s activity has significantly contributed in the economic and social empowerment of the women in the respective village.

Mr. Hossain has managed to obtain significant profit out his business since its inception in 2017. The business requires comparatively less investment as the raw materials are procured from naturally occurred agricultural waste and it results into considerably higher return due to its growing market demand. Now-a-days, leaf made biodegradable and compostable products are of great demand among the people at home and abroad as people around the world are getting implicitly conscious about the environmental concerns. A great number of responsible citizens around the globe are now willing to adopt an environment friendly green culture through buying ecofriendly products even at a comparatively higher rate from the conventional market price considering its greater environmental benefits. As a result, the business has the potential to flourish at a relatively faster pace in view of the rising global climate change awareness. Based on this ground, Mr. Hossain has been terming his initiative as one of the most promising ones from the perspective of economic viability. He also has plans for further extending his business by adding up more machines and employing more people into his factory eventually developing a large workforce.

In Bangladesh, market for environment friendly single-use products is yet to thrive but Mr. Hossain seems to be quite hopeful about the potentiality of the same. He is hopeful of continuing his effort till he achieves the ultimate goal of building a plastic pollution free nation. He exclaims that, apart from providing him economic benefits, his work gives him the satisfaction of making contribution towards the well-being of the nation and the environment, even if to a smaller extent. He expects that more and more people get involved with such ecofriendly business initiatives so that a competitive market is created for the alternatives to disposable plastics. This would eventually bring about a cultural change through outlawing the existing market of conventional single use plastic items and introducing a pollution free greener culture. It will only then be possible to materialize his dream of developing a toxic pollution free future for the people of the nation.

Expressing his optimism about the potentiality of the business Mr. Hossain said “I want our people to step forward and invest in this business. This is perhaps the easiest and one of the most potential business lines that apparently, will flourish in near future. I have seen people getting feared of the idea of investing in an unconventional idea due to lack of appropriate knowledge and training. I am open to share my knowledge and learning with others so that more people get to know about the ins and outs of the business and eventually get motivated to step in.”