Cover FocusCover Storyeventually joined hands with Zafar Iqbal to begin theirjourney in food industry with Melange.“Melange became an instant success on its inception.We pulled in a diverse crowd, starting from youngindividuals to corporate professionals. From the verybeginning, we strictly followed certain rules, such asensuring that customers are of minimum twenty-oneyears if they wanted to order sheesha. We are proud tohave created a fuss-free environment with Melange andMirage. Despite having no idea about the kitcheninitially, I quickly learned the ropes from my partners.Other than training the staff, we handled marketing,accounts, and customer service. Soon we reaped thebenefits as a team,” expresses Vicky.Managing a restaurant wasn’t all about the success andprofits either – during peak hours Vicky lent a hand intaking orders and even washing plates. “It’s somethingI do, even today when required. I still take orders fromcustomers and collect their bills. When I was abroad, Ilearnt that doing your own work and helping out thestaff makes things smoother,” Vicky candidlyexpresses. According to him, it’s not enough to justopen up a plush restaurant; it’s vital for owners to bedeeply involved with the business in order to ensure itssmooth operation, understand consumer behaviourand estimate the finances.“Customer service is crucial in the success of restaurantbusiness. If, in rare circumstances, customers areunsatisfied with the food or the service, we either don’tcharge them or offer discounts to make sure we retainour clients,” elaborates Vicky.Once the business was stable and the partners atMelange had gathered enough experience, theyconceived the idea of doing something on a largerscale. In 2013, Mirage was opened in affiliation withKabir Reza, owner of Dhaka Regency Hotel. Mirageconsisted of three sections - café, lounge and finedining.On the topic of customer satisfaction, Vicky shares,“Our employees are a crucial part of customersatisfaction and we wouldn’t have been so successfulwithout them. Maintaining the staff is very importantas customers expect to see familiar faces. Other thancommissions, we try to help our staff as much aspossible, like financial aid for their weddings orrebuilding their village homes,” informs Vicky.Two years ago, Vicky along with a few partners enteredthe food cart business with Wow Burger. There wereabout thirty carts, competing vigorously with oneanother. Among them, Wow Burger gained a loyal fanbase. “It’s a small enterprise which caters to people ofall ages at an affordable rate,” says Vicky. Last year,Wow Burger started their own shops in Banani andUttara, while the cart operation continues.Nafees Reza Vicky’s latest venture, Tokyo Express is quitedifferent from his previous ones. It’s a posh Japaneserestaurant in Banani which, despite being a month old, hasgained immense popularity. One of his partners at TokyoExpress said, “Apart from the hard work and businessinsight which every partner brings, Vicky’s strong socialnetwork has been a tremendous forte for us."“I’ve been blessed with supportive partners, employees,and the prayers of my family and loved ones,” says Vicky,“The supportive nature and encouragement of my wifewho is a barrister and understands work pressure atungodly hours, has been vital to my success. There areseveral other things in the pipeline and I hope theybecome equally successful.”When asked to express his opinion about the growingcompetition in food business Vicky responds with a smile,“Greater diversity in choices for consumers, isn’t that agreat thing? As for the owners of such joints, we have toconstantly be on our toes to ensure that we’re keeping ourcustomers happier than our competitors. For me, theincreased competition is a positive sign because it helpsraise the bar.”69
Cover FocusCover StoryPhoto: Ashraf Uddin ApuLet there be lightWBy Sheikh Sadaf Tasinhat if an average man was made to spend an entire day in the slums of Dhaka city? The first thinghe would notice is the eerie darkness. The slums are built in a way which allows little or no lightto enter into the homes. The residents of slums had found a temporary fix by borrowingelectricity from neighbouring electrical poles. But the procedure itself is inconvenient and against the lawsince it leads to misuse of non-renewable energy. Sajid Iqbal, founder of CHANGE, talks about hisproject Botol Bati, a noble initiative to curb electricity inconveniences in the slums.Sajid Iqbal completed his Bachelor degree in Environmental Science and Management, from NorthSouth University. He was also actively involved in the sport of fencing and participated in severaltournaments for the BangladeshNational Fencing team. He is currentlyrunning a research and consultancyfirm called CHANGE, which is theglobal partner of Liter of Light that isactive in eleven countries. Sajid Iqbaland his team are installing solar lightbulbs made from plastic bottles inslum areas which provide properenvironmental friendly lighting tothese households.Iqbal founded the consultancy firm,CHANGE in October 2013. Thefirm seeks to provide renewableenergy using eco-friendly solutionslike bottle lights, reduced carbonemission and proper lighting tohouseholds in the slums. They are alsothe global partners with Liter of Light.In addition, Iqbal has gathered agroup of hard working volunteers,from different universities, who areassociated with this firm. Severalworkshops are also organised byCHANGE to get the youth involvedin environment friendly activities.Amongst all their projects, Botol Batihas gained recognition.The idea for Botol Bati which meansbottle light was conceived back in2012, when Sajid was half waythrough his bachelor’s degree. Afriend of his, shared a YouTube videoshowcasing the activities of anorganisation called the Liter of Lightin Philippines, where solar light bulbs
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