A. K. Azad
Chairman & Managing Director
Ha-Meem Group
A. K. Azad is one of those entrepreneurs in the private sector whose crucial role is attributing to this process of industrialization being imbued with all youthfulness. While Bangladesh is gradually but steadfastly becoming an industrialized nation, and her slow but steady accomplishment making a strong foot in the galaxy of world’s industrialized nations, this industrialist is the Managing Director of countrywide well-known Ha-Meem Group of companies. Ha-Meem Group is taking the vast stock of the country’s textile industry with a rich heritage to the path of progress. It was once the country’s textile particularly Muslin which had a worldwide high reputation. But later during the British rule & the then commercial exploiters due to their mechinasation, the thriving textile industry was brought to the verge of destruction. A. K. Azad stands in the first circle with those entrepreneurs who strove relentlessly with their merit & labour are trying to save the deteriorating textile industry and infuse a new Lease of life to this.
Azad is the Managing Director of 35 medium to large industries so far established and many more are in the pipeline. His industries involves readymade garments, Denim, Tea, and Jute, state-of-the art washing plants, Logistics, & Supply Chain Management, TV Channel (Channel 24), Bank and Insurance. The name of his prestigious group is Ha-Meem Group. Through his relentless efforts and business farsightedness he built a company where 55,000 people of different trades and occupation work and lead their livelihood. A.K. Azad is playing a pioneering role with his dynamic leadership quality being in the front row attributed to earn highest amount of foreign exchange by rehabilitating the docile textile industry. Recently, he performed the duties of solving this problem during the crisis of the industry being always as the fore-runner. When the question of quota was raised, a serious apprehension gripped all around, A.K. Azad with his undaunted courage and strength of mind along with his compatriots came forward to save the situation, the prestige of Bangladeshi Garments Industry spread to Europe, USA & other countries of the world beyond meeting the home demand. He is also performing a pioneering role upholding the aesthetic qualities of Bangladeshi textile industry in the eye of the world market. This meritorious, self-confident industrialist A.K. Azad was born on December 31, 1959 in a respectable Muslim family at Jhiltuli in Faridpur district. His father late Alhaj M.A. Aziz was an honourable personality of Faridpur district.
A.K. Azad obtained his B.Sc (Hons) in Physics from Dhaka University in 1983. On completion of his educational life, Azad was involved in business rather than joining any organization. He could establish himself in the business arena through an uphill and eventually built ‘Ha-Meem Group of Companies’ And since its inception he is the Managing Director of this group of companies.
Meanwhile a Ha-Meem Group of Companies has achieved a wide reputation at home and abroad. As this Group is helping the progress of the country’s industrial advancement, as well as rendering huge contribution to the country’s economic uplift. As the top brass of Ha-Meem Group, A.K. Azad never think of his industrial-business enterprises only for profit earning concern, he also thinks this as a means of principal way of resolving country’s unemployment problem. He opines if private entrepreneurs decline to come forward in establishing industries, Bangladesh would be lagging far behind and the unemployment would have been ten-fold more than that of present situation. Azad has been contributing positively & boldly in the national economy for properly spreading the country’s textile industry.
Through his formidable courage and able leadership, he was elected President of the most prestigious organization FBCCI (Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries). He was member of the government entourage and led Bangladesh business delegations at home and overseas.
A.K. Azad is adorned with innumerable qualities of heart. He does not think about his own industry & business, but for the problems & prospects of the country’s overall industry and business arena. He had been elected President of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), an important organization of businessmen & entrepreneurs successively for two terms, A.K. Azad has been nominated CIP by the Government for his immense contribution to the economic uplift through his business & trading enterprises. The business of the industrial empire ‘Ha-Meem’ is being ever expanding under his dynamic leadership. Meanwhile this Group incorporated other sectors of industries including Textile, Jute Mills, RMG, Banking & Insurance. He was a former director of the Board of Investment (BOI). The amount of RMG export is about $500 million USD.
His business has expanded over the years to provide products and services revolving round 500 million USD with a strategy of turning the company in to a one billion USD. Azad is playing a pioneering role and leading the Garments Sector of the country from the front. When the question of quota imposed, Azad worked relentlessly doing series of meetings with business counterparts and came forward a respectable win-win situation for Bangladeshi RMG manufacturers.
Ha-Meem’s apparel brand is highly lauded in the USA and Europe. Nishat Jute Mills, Denim Mills of this group have taken the country’s industrial onward journey one step ahead. He also invested in the banking & Insurance sectors and performing as a director. Azad’s strolling presence in the country’s newspaper industry is resounding. He is the founder-publisher of Dainik Samakal. He is also greatly contributing in the educational arena. Azad comes of a respectable Muslim family. His father late M.A. Aziz had a glorious reputation for being ardent lover of education and social reformer. And to immortalize his great contribution, people of his locality established a high school after his name. Besides, he gave grants & scholarships to students and also was an entrepreneur and donor to social organizations. His siblings are highly educated and successful in their respective fields. This countrywide well-known Business magnate, investor and philanthropist. Those are just three of the many descriptions one can attribute to Azad. As a philanthropist he participates in philanthropic work. He runs 5 Schools for the poor and ensures that no student is dropped out for want of money. He has commissioned a scholarship fund that looks after the well-being of all poor students. He has also made a large contribution to a hospital in order to facilitate poor kidney failure people can have dialysis at a very affordable price. organizer, outspoken industrial personality imbued with industry-consciousness and perseverance traveled to many countries of the world for his business purposes. It all started with a garment company in 1984 and two enterprising men A. K. Azad and Delwar’s vision is to break through in the textile industry and making Ha-Meem Group a leading wholesale clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh. The business activities of Ha-Meem Group have been growing day by day under their energetic leadership. Thus we became a pioneer in wholesale apparel manufacturing in Bangladesh. Also Ha-Meem Group is very renowned for its wholesale apparel manufacturing in both Europe and America. Today Ha-Meem Group employs around 50,000 workers and the company has 26 garment factories consisting of 300 production lines and 7 washing plants to produce 7 million pcs/month.
