Mashraka Binte Mosharraf, CEO of Eco Monarchy, has been succeeding as an entrepreneur since 2005. Her route to success, however, was full of uncertainty at the beginning, but she overcame the obstacles through sheer determination.
“It was quite a blow for my family that I left a good-paying job in Germany to return to Bangladesh and get into the jute business, a business that people here look down on,” Mashraka explains.
But she was motivated to work with ‘the golden fibre’, Bangladesh’s signature product, to enhance the brand value of ‘Made in Bangladesh’. “Bangladesh has the best quality jute in the world,” she says, and there is amazing potential to create remarkably creative products. Among the customised jute products that Eco Monarchy manufactures are home décor items, such as cushions and curtains, bags, corporate gifts and packaging. Mashraka has also created a space to sell her goods both around Bangladesh and abroad, especially in Europe.
One of the highest hurdles for Mashraka to overcome was the lack of business knowledge and skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. By attending capacity-building training at the Corporate Connect project, however, she got the opportunity to hone her skills in accounting and finance, HR management, and business pitching, all of which helped her immensely. She believes that the training she received at Corporate Connect was functional to successfully running and growing her business. It’s been a game-changer for her and her business in that it has allowed her to register her business in the national and international databases, thus leading to new opportunities and networking. Today, Mashraka has more than 35 employees, and is steadily climbing the ladder of success by making Eco Monarchy a reliable brand for corporate clients.