BBF: Could you please enlighten us on your 25 years journey?
Md Aminur Rashid: After graduating from IBA, my career started at Siemens Bangladesh. In my 12 years of working with this famous German company, I got the opportunity of leading different businesses of consumer and industrial products at a very young age.
This part of my career, where I was also part-time faculty in different business schools, was very enriching for me in terms of revisiting my academic knowledge and simultaneously getting the opportunities to manage and learn practically different functions and sectors of business. Siemens is known as an organisation to promote a learning culture and leadership development programs.
After Siemens closed its consumer business in Bangladesh I, together with my colleagues, continued the operation in Bangladesh under Edison Group banner. One of the success stories of this phase of my career was establishing Symphony as the number 1 brand in Bangladesh, beating world-renowned brands. The brand made a huge socio-economic impact by making good quality features and smartphones affordable to the mass people of the country.
Edison as a group now is growing sustainably in mobile phone, mobile accessories & value-added services, logistics, footwear, appliances, power and real estate business. I am very proud of being part of the journey of establishing Edison Group as a reputed and trusted organisation within a short period of time.
BBF: Tell us a bit about Edison Real Estate. What do you think is unique about Edison Real Estate?
All of us know the real estate market opportunities in this densely populated country and the fastest-growing economy in the world.
Our unique value propositions come from value creations which are unique from any other players in the industry.
All our developments are happening on our own land. This gives each apartment owner full freedom in enjoying building facilities that joint venture projects cannot provide because of land owners’ dominance after apartment handover, as they own 50% of the apartments.
As our projects are developed on a big land, we are able to offer ample open space and facilities. These features allow customers to lead happy, social and active lifestyles. Most of the development in Dhaka city is happening in lands below ’10 Katha’ with no provision for these facilities.
The most important unique differentiating point is that we offer higher value to the customers than any real estate company. The cost we are saving by not doing a joint venture is being passed on to customers by providing better-designed products, good quality materials, additional features and amenities and last but most important, by investing in people, technology and processes which will ensure fulfilment of brand promises consistently.
In terms of location, we have unique propositions as well. All our projects are located in Bashundhara, which is unique in terms of open space, security and facilities like good universities, schools, hospitals, sports zone, kids parks and very good connectivity.
Our supervision team can easily monitor the construction progress and its quality very easily as all projects are very close to each other. I go to Bashunhdara almost each Saturday to visit existing and upcoming projects.
BBF: You had a prominent ground in the consumer electronics sector. What made you shift your focus from consumer electronics to real estate?
As an entrepreneur, I think our main achievement and mission is to continue being able to touch, influence and improve the lives of people and society in our own way. This objective was in my mind while focusing on the business. This intention is clear in our tagline – “Redefining Happiness.”
Edison started the real estate business as part of a diversification strategy in 2015. It was a wise move as mobile is part of the technology business, which is always very volatile and unpredictable. I always try to develop a unique business model, disrupt the market and give customers more value for the money they are getting at present.
After deep-diving into the market, I became more and more interested and passionate. Buying a house is one of the most important decisions of consumers in their lifetime. Their concern is mainly around the timely handover and quality, which should be a basic level of expectations. Although this sector is very big with growth and profit, the potential majority of players are not professionally organised, lacking consumer trust. We see a huge opportunity to shift customer expectations from basic to higher-level experiences and delight.
I also find that despite being such a prestigious sector, it is not able to attract good talents. As a group, we have established a good reputation as an employer of choice because of our attractive company culture. I can see the opportunity here to make some positive changes in line with our mission of redefining happiness, whose one of the important stakeholders is the people we work with.
Another area I find close to my heart is the workers’ treatment in the sector. I am really getting energised and passionate about improving different areas of worker well-being. I am personally following up and trying to redefine the happiness of these workers who are the real builders of this very important sector.
BBF: Real estate is one of Bangladesh’s most emerging and dynamic sectors. What challenges do you see when building your own brand?
One of our key brand promises is the highest value for money which we develop on the back of land and materials prices. Both land and materials cost is getting higher and more unpredictable.
There is also a lack of financing options in the sector. The only financing source is the bank which is not too keen to finance real estate projects. Other options like bonds and security are not available yet in our market. There is almost no foreign direct investment because of some specific reasons.
The lengthy and timely regulatory approval process is another challenge which makes the project long, putting customers and financing in a difficult situation.
BBF: How do you combine your technology industry experience to lead a real-estate organisation?
Three-way previous technologies experiences helped me.
First, we have the mindset of carefully watching the business ecosystem, responding to market development and being quick in the internal decision-making process. I think even in a structured and stable sector like real estate, we can use empowerment and engagement in the deeper level of management, which helps to make customer fulfilment more efficient.
I am using my experience in business process automation in different functional areas, ensuring efficiency, timely transparency, and quality decision-making.
We are using more and more digital marketing and data analytics in different marketing and lead generation activities. Besides, we plan to automate whole customer relationship management and make their application based so that we can communicate, follow up, measure satisfaction and get insight through the mobile phone of all our customers.
BBF: What sort of innovation might come in the real estate industry?
The scope of innovation in the real estate industry is increasing day by day. Construction technology is advancing; innovation is coming in design. In the current context, the need to build eco-friendly buildings is increasing. All in all, the housing industry is undergoing a radical change. Manual construction is now turning to automation. The use of AR and VR in marketing and sales is also increasing.
At Edison Real Estate, we constantly focus on research, development and innovation. We bring variety in design, use cutting-edge technology in construction, and emphasise value engineering. We are always in search of modern construction equipment which is both cost-effective and time-saving at the same time. Equipment such as Hydraulic Strategic Driver Machine, Hydraulic Rig, Rebar Bending & Binding Machine, Plaster Machine, Crane & Cargo Lift for Material Lifting etc. is being used regularly in our projects. We are using VR to show different projects. All in all, we are constantly trying to keep pace with the times.
BBF: What would be your advice to future professionals?
The rate of business change has increased dynamically. They need to prepare themselves to add value to organisations looking for professionals who can adapt to changes and continuously find ways to drive improvements.
They should continuously try to learn and update themselves on the markets they are operating and enhance their functional, general and leadership competencies. I can see many professionals becoming less and less valuable to the companies as they cannot keep up with the ever-increasing challenges and growth journey of the companies they are working in.
Our professionals need to possess qualities entrepreneurs are desperately looking for but not finding in the job markets – ownership, sense of responsibility, passion for the job, collaboration spirit, and integrity. These qualities are getting increasingly important both for the success of professionals and companies.
