Success and failure stories

Started with 30,000 borrowed taka and three machang huts; capital is now about 8 lakh

She left an NGO job and started in February 2024 beside Kaptai lake with three machang huts and 30,000 taka of borrowed money. A Krishi Bank loan took the overnight huts to seven, and her capital now stands at about 8 lakh taka.

Capital

৳30k

Started in 2024

In the 1990s a watch was a gift of status; now only wall clocks come in

This repairer in Satkhira has fixed watches for decades and is known locally as the watch doctor. With mobile phones ending the wristwatch market, only a little wall-clock work now comes in, and a two-person household lives on it.

Fifty-seven years in the trade, 9am to 8pm, and 300-500 taka a day

He opened his own shop around 1975 and ran it about fifteen years, until the landlord demolished the building. He now works from a small table under an umbrella by the road, taking 300-500 taka a day.

Started in 1975

From 1,500-2,000 taka a day to 600, with the rest of the day in the gas queue

After a fire at the floating LNG terminal off Maheshkhali, gas supply in Chattogram broke down. Refuelling that once took 20-30 minutes now means four to six hours in a queue, and one driver's daily takings fell from 1,500-2,000 taka to 600.

A self-built rig charging easybikes for 110,000 taka, and still no income figure

After two unpaid years learning at an electricity office, he assembled a charge controller, DC motor, dynamo and circuits of his own to charge easybikes. Getting it working cost 110,000 taka.

Capital

৳1.1 lakh

Started at 14, two years in another man's garage, now five workers and 15,000 a month

Both his legs have been non-functional since birth; at 14 he chose motorcycle repair and spent two years learning in someone else's garage. His own workshop now has five workers, brings 15,000 taka a month and supports a household of seven.

Three weddings booked, then everything stopped, with the capital locked in a rented office

He set up an event management business after graduating and rented a furnished office near his home. Three weddings were booked when COVID-19 stopped everything, and his savings and borrowings are now tied up in a business with no work.

The same two mandaps, but the work fell from 60,000 taka to 20,000

Last year each puja mandap meant about 60,000 taka of work; this year it came to about 20,000. The same two bookings, but no chairs, tables or fans were needed.

Four city branches and two upazila gyms that earn nothing: the name came from coaching

The first gym opened at Bahaddarhat in 2002; there are now four branches in Chattogram city and two in Patiya and Chandanaish that bring in no income. About 500 bodybuilders have been trained, with at least 150 more in training.

Started in 2002

From 12-15 labs between Shyamoli and New Market to four or five, with crockery in the other room

Around 2000 there were 12 to 15 studio labs between Shyamoli and New Market; four or five are left. This 35-year-old business has shrunk into one room and sells crockery in the other.

Eight of the town's sixteen studios are shut; the rest live on passport photos

The days of families coming in groups at Eid, Puja, weddings and Boishakh are over. Eight studios in Chandpur town have closed and eight remain, with cameras bought for 80,000-90,000 taka lying unused.

Started in 1998

From 10 taka of capital to a 50-lakh business with 200 workers

She began tailoring with 10 taka of capital, set up a training centre in 1998 and took a 25,000-taka loan from the youth development department. Investment now stands at about 50 lakh taka with 200 workers and about a lakh a month after expenses.

Capital

৳10

Started in 1998