There used to be a time not so long ago, when the average Bangladeshi parents would either want you to study medicine or engineering, or get out of their homes. That trend, however, has seen a steady decline over the past few years. Nowadays, an overwhelmingly big number of young Bangladeshis tend to go for the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programme at public and private universities, and their parents seem to be okay with it. Some disapproving science students may attribute this choice to the relative easiness of the BBA course structure, but arguably the main reason behind so many students enrolling in BBA is the boom of opportunities in the job market for business school graduates in recent times.
With Bangladesh welcoming multinational companies (MNCs) and facilitating expansion of local corporations, the window of opportunities for BBA students is not just large, but in fact growing with promises of higher payments. That being a very tempting and desirable future for the youth of a developing country, we tend to be satisfied with such jobs, thus narrowing down our entrepreneurial prospects. However, that is not the only reason for the lack of entrepreneurial motivations of the youth.
The BBA programmes offered at any reputable university in Bangladesh, although diverse and well-designed, do not offer many courses that focus on entrepreneurship as a career. Amidst the different shades of accounting, finance, marketing and management, entrepreneurship gets less importance than is needed to motivate the graduates to start up a business. In comparison to renowned business schools around the globe such as York University’s Schulich School of Business, where Entrepreneurship is offered as a specialisation for BBA students, Dhaka University’s IBA falls short — in that the latter offers only one focused course on the said subject in undergraduate level, as is the case with most other universities. Some offer none at all.
However, with the added focus on other sectors, such as management, the opportunities at MNCs for BBA graduates are higher. The prospect of a bounteous paycheck often entices graduates to pursue working for others. “I prefer a job at an MNC because of the stability and the decent pay, sometimes right upon recruitment. Entrepreneurship involves substantial risk-taking and uncertainty, and increased chances of loss of capital and time,” says Sami Tahsin, an undergrad student at IBA.
The greater obstacle to being an entrepreneur is the starting capital. Not many have the financial backings needed to start a business. Subsequently, without proper first-hand experience, business ventures may not prosper. “To be an entrepreneur, you need money,” says Rafayat Alam, a graduate from NSU. “Ironically, without proper experience in the job sector, no one wants to invest money into your business.”
Even after investing a large capital into a business, you cannot be certain if it will thrive. It may take months before the business actually takes off, if at all. Besides, you have to be very innovative to stay ahead, which becomes quite challenging at times. “Your friends will have five to six digit salaries, while you are still struggling to keep your business running — it doesn’t feel good,” says Shoummo Rubaiyat, an IBA student, who would like to join an MNC when he graduates. He adds, “You need many contacts and great networking skills for a business. For an average guy like me, it’ll be difficult. For someone like my classmate Niloy, who knows everyone from everywhere, it’s much, much easier.”
Then what is the formula of succeeding in entrepreneurship? Many entrepreneurs would argue you can’t teach someone how to be a successful businessman. Some of the biggest business tycoons had never even studied business. But then again, not everyone can be a Gates, or a Zuckerberg. Whether or not a BBA graduate starts his/her own business depends on individual traits. Business suits well for people who understand the monetary risks of their profession and still pursue their respective ventures. If you have an idea that you believe in, and are determined to work as hard as needed to make it flourish, the lack of institutional motivations would not be enough to stop you from achieving your targets.
“If you’re passionate about your business idea, you can become the next Steve Jobs. If you’re only concerned with a good payment, you’ll be stuck in a 9 to 5 job, working for the next Steve Jobs,” reflects Tasnuva Islam, a second-year BBA student in NSU, who aspires to start up her own business after graduation.
Photo: Darshan Chakma
Despite all the risks, around 10 percent of the BBA graduates do go on to become entrepreneurs. Incidentally, most of them end up rather successful, having been better prepared than most of their colleagues who did not study business. It is somewhat odd that these successes do not inspire other potential entrepreneurs more. But like Rafayat believes, “We Bengalis are not risk-takers by nature. We take the safer path whenever possible.”
By starting up own businesses, however, not only are people employing themselves, but are also creating job opportunities for many others. Entrepreneurship is a field that is still not booming on a large scale in Bangladesh. For people contemplating taking the entrepreneurship path, this is truly the “Wild Wild West”.
Source: UNBConnect
