The Harvard Business School Graduate has worked with global giants like Morgan Stanley, Nokia and Vistaprint in countries like Singapore and the United States, but it was the desire to establish something of value in her homeland which brought her back to Bangladesh.
“I wanted to create a mass market brand that everyone can use, something that will truly add value to people’s lives,” she says. And by introducing shohoz.com to the market, she’s done just that. To ensure that no one is deprived of their services, shohoz.com has paired up with various offline channels. Maliha explained how they also work with partners who sell tickets through phone and fax in addition to the app, and of course, their website. It is not an easy job though; the internet industry is very fast and there is no room for complacency. She stated, “Every time I achieve something, I can’t help but feel that I could have done more; and I believe that my organisation is on the same note. Wanting to achieve more keeps us on our toes and steers us away from complacency,” she states. Her company, shohoz.com plans on branching out and covering the entire transportation industry. It has recently started a ride sharing platform and they plan on starting new ventures which we will know about in due course.
Having experienced the work environment of some of the biggest firms in several countries, Maliha is pleased with the fact that Bangladesh is not entirely behind, in terms of women’s participation in the workforce. However, she does feel that in many cases, society’s expectations hold them back to some extent. She further elaborated, “Women are expected to prepare meals and look after their children; people must understand that it is not absolutely mandatory for us to do these things. With this in view, she also adds that children should learn from a very young age that boys too can wash dishes, girls too can play football. This can be done by implementing small changes in storybooks children read in primary school like, for example, the stories can state that both mom and dad wash the dishes after coming home from work. In addition to that, you must create an environment that promotes gender equality in your household. These little changes will eventually create a huge difference in the future,” says Maliha. In regards to this, she stresses on the role that NGOs and education system can play. Above all, there must be implementation of government policies that encourage more women to join the workforce.” Maliha concludes.
Photos by: Tutul Nesar