A Bangladeshi woman in Qatar has fought her way through prejudices to become a well known entrepreneur from a finance professional.
She is Israt Ara Younus, now the managing director of Richmond Consultants & Services.
An influential daily in Qatar, The Peninsula in its report, titled 'Woman banker from Bangladesh fights prejudices to become a rising entrepreneur in Qatar' described her as 'challenge-loving', and her journey as 'not easy'.
Israt went to Qatar in 2008, leaving behind an illustrious career that began as a management trainee and saw her joining multinational banks, and some other big names later in Bangladesh.
After going there, she decided to have a break from the hustle and bustle of the corporate world and began devoting full time to her family.
“Within a year I realised that sitting at home is more difficult than challenging professional life,” she was quoted as saying so by the English-language daily.
She joined a multinational bank in Qatar and has broken many stereotypes since then. She became the first female corporate banking relationship manager for the bank. In the world of financial services, widely seen as a male-dominated turf, she closed many deals successfully, proving her capability once again.
Rather than resting in the comfort zone of her ongoing successful job, she opted to take the plunge in the challenging world of entrepreneurship.
“With my experience in financial services and strong network, I realised that the time has come to start my entrepreneurial journey and set up my financial and management consultancy firm. After getting required approval, the firm began operations in 2017,” added Israt, who is an active member of Bangladesh Forum Qatar.
Now her firm is well established in Qatar and provides consultancy services to several companies. Being a woman added some extra challenges to her professional life, said Israt, looking back at her career. “Being a woman and an expatriate added few more roadblocks in my career, but I always believed in myself. My advice to other aspiring women entrepreneurs is to have perseverance and commitment. These two qualities have helped me a lot in my life and career,” she added.
Despite her busy life, she manages to find time for social activities and get involved in social activities of Bangladesh Forum Qatar.
“I want to take my consultancy firm to a point in future where if anybody thinks of financial and management consultancy, then our firm’s name should come to her or his mind,” said Israt.
