Walton and ShareTrip Shine at Bangladesh Business Awards 2025
Three distinguished individuals and two leading enterprises were honored in 2024 for their outstanding efforts and contributions in their respective business sectors. Notably, one-third of the awardees represented the technology sector. Among them, Sadia Haque, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the technology-driven travel platform ShareTrip, received the award for Best Woman Entrepreneur. Walton was recognized in the category of Enterprise of the Year, with the award accepted on behalf of the company by S. M. Mahbubul Alam, Managing Director of Walton Hi-Tech Industries.
This year’s Business Person of the Year award went to Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Chairman and CEO of Pran-RFL Group. The award for Best Financial Institution was presented to City Bank, accepted by its Managing Director and CEO, Mashrur Arefin. Lifetime Achievement recognition was conferred upon Anis Ud Dowla, Chairman of ACI Group.
The awards were presented on the evening of Tuesday, September 23, at a ceremony held at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka. Chief Guest, Economic Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, handed over the honors, while Trade Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin attended as Special Guest. Among the organizers present were Md. Miarul Haque, Country Manager of DHL Worldwide Express, and Mahfuz Anam, Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star.
This year’s theme for the awards was “Powering the Private Sector,” underscoring the vital role of private enterprise in advancing Bangladesh’s economy.
The ceremony was attended by leading business figures, industrialists, economists, researchers, and bankers, as well as eminent personalities engaged in trade and economic activities of the country. Distinguished attendees included Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Geeti Ara Safia Chowdhury, former Adviser to the Caretaker Government; Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation; Sarah Cook, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh; and Kazi Wahidul Alam, Editor of Bangladesh Monitor.
Prominent business leaders present included A. K. Azad, Chairman and CEO of Ha-Meem Group; Tapan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Square Pharmaceuticals; Abdul Muktadir, Managing Director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals; Simeen Rahman, Group CEO of Transcom Limited; Javed Akhtar, President of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Naser Ezaz Bijoy, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh; and Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager of Mastercard Bangladesh.
