Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Iqbal Ahmed was born in Sylhet in the northeast of Bangladesh in the late 1950s. He was to become one of its famous and successful sons. He became a visionary entrepreneur, a successful businessman, a banker and a philanthropist.
In 2013, Iqbal Ahmed founded NRB Bank PLC., a fourth-generation bank in Bangladesh. He was the bank’s first Chairman and was re-elected as Chairman on March 23, 2025. It is his vision to turn NRB Bank PLC. into one of the most successful banks in Bangladesh. Establishing NRB Bank PLC. is one of Iqbal’s biggest achievements.
Iqbal is also the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Seamark Group of Companies which he grew from a small enterprise to an internationally renowned business founded on his passion for export, innovation and customer service.
He and his company have been the recipient of many awards recognising his contributions to business and regeneration.
His clear vision for the business has led to a string of prestigious awards for Seamark in the UK such as the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1998, whilst Seamark BD in Bangladesh is a recipient of many gold trophy Awards from the Government for achieving the highest exports of seafood.
His personal recognition came when he was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2001 for his services to International Trade and when he received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration and honorary Fellowship award in the UK.
He has been a Commercially Important Person in Bangladesh since the early 2000.
He formed a charity called Iqbal Bros Foundation which oversaw his charitable works cementing his commitment to the local communities and education and the promotion of corporate social responsibility. He supported Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge University’s scholarship programme awarding outstanding students regardless of background to access a world-class university. He was also a donor to the Manchester Metropolitan University’s First Generation scholarship programme which provides access to education and creates opportunities for underprivileged students whose parents did not go to university.
He chaired UKBCCI (UK Bangladesh Catalysts of Commerce & Industry) since its inception. UKBCCI is a leading umbrella organisation for successful British-Bangladeshi entrepreneurs in the UK and Bangladesh.
Iqbal has been associated with many government bodies in the UK and Bangladesh either as advisor, director, mentor or member.
He is a motivational speaker. He has the ability to speak with such authority thus regularly sought as a speaker at international events and academic institutions.
Iqbal published his autobiography in the UK in 2017 and a Bengali version of the book in Bangladesh in 2020.
Ferdous Ara Begum is the former Additional Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh and former DG of Bangladesh Television. She is a distinguished Gender and Ageing issues specialist in Bangladesh.
As a former civil servant, she was the first woman to lead Bangladesh Television as Director General, and also the first female Commissioner of Taxes in Bangladesh. She served as a Board Member of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Grameen Bank for six years.
Ferdous Ara Begum just concluded her nine years tenure as the member of the Board of Trustees of HelpAge International (2016 to 2025). She is also the former member of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW - 2007-2010) at the UN.
As a CEDAW Committee Member she worked to realize equality between men and women through ensuring women’s equal excess to and equal opportunity in every aspect of their life including public and political life. She took the lead role to formulate the General Recommendation on protection of human rights of older women, which is called G.R.27.
As the member of the Board of Trustees of HelpAge International, she influenced the policy guide line of the organization for the benefit of the older people, so that they have a dignified life with adequate social protection, access to health services, protection from violence and they have a voice.
In her 32 years of continuous public service, she has been active in educating and creating public awareness on the importance of women’s rights and actively influenced women’s financial independence. She helped to mainstream women's and child rights issues in government policies, creating awareness for ageing issues and reproductive rights. She has taken initiatives for GO – NGO collaboration and NGOs engagement as a partner of the development programs implementation. While working at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, one of her important responsibilities was to oversee 34 gender specific projects that were designed to provide social and legal protection for women and children.
Ms. Begum possesses remarkable educational credentials. She completed her BA (Honors) and MA in Economics from the University of Dhaka. After that, she obtained her Master in Public Administration degree (MPA) from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA. She also completed a Certificate Course in Development Administration at Princeton University, USA, and studied Gender Issues and Participatory Governance at KIT, The Netherlands.
She is the CEO of the Active Ageing and Research Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
