Success and failure stories

Three years without a single fee, a school kept open on loans, and the homestead next

The school ran profitably and with a good name before the pandemic. After the long closures no fees came in for three years; he has borrowed to keep it open and says clearing the debt may mean selling the homestead.

From 235 students down to about 150, with a fruit stall beside the school

The school had 235 students before COVID-19; after the long closure about 60 new pupils enrolled and roughly 150 remain on the books. To keep it open she runs a fruit stall alongside and sells clothing online from one classroom.

The furniture was sold to pay the rent, and the school closed anyway: 16 jobs gone

She kept the school alive for about a year after the closures. With no fees coming in, the furniture was sold to cover the building rent; the school shut anyway and its 16 teachers and staff lost their work.

The kindergarten shut and the salary with it; now two students at home

When the kindergarten in Manikganj town closed, this teacher's salary stopped entirely. He now scrapes by tutoring two students at his own house.

School shut, and both salary and tuition went: a 35,000-taka month stopped at once

Teaching plus private tuition brought this English teacher in Panchagarh 35,000 taka a month before the pandemic. When institutions closed, both incomes stopped at the same moment.

Twelve days offline, five clients gone, and the whole income base with them

Three regular clients brought in 1,000-1,500 US dollars a month. In the 12-day internet shutdown of July 2024 he lost five clients, and three new enquiries went unanswered.

Two contracts cancelled in the shutdown, and six months of standing gone

A Fiverr Top Rated Seller could not answer more than 20 client messages during the shutdown; two contracts were cancelled, the account was downgraded for six months, and he put the damage at 400,000 taka.

More than 5 lakh taka lost in the days Facebook was down

Two women run a fashion page that sells entirely through Facebook. During the July 2024 shutdown they could take no orders at all, and put their losses at more than 5 lakh taka.

He could not finish a 5-dollar first job; he now earns a thousand dollars a month

A computer bought in 2020 with a 30,000-taka microfinance loan, a first Fiverr job of 5 dollars he could not complete, and about 1,000 dollars a month now - plus his father's 3 lakh taka loan repaid.

Capital

৳30k

Started in 2020

Google Ads work from a wheelchair, at 1 to 1.5 lakh taka a month

Paralysed in both legs by a 2017 accident, he trained in 2021 and built a practice in Google Ads and e-commerce work, now earning 100,000-150,000 taka a month through Fiverr and Upwork.

Started in 2021

Three years of AdSense rejections, then 130,000 taka in a single month

He started in 2016 on a laptop bought with money from his father's broken savings scheme, and nothing worked for about three years. The break came in September 2021, and 130,000 taka arrived the next month.

Started in 2016