While having a cup of tea, Muhammad Towhid gets to know more about Iqbal Ahmed, his life, his struggles, his success and contribution of the diaspora community in UK

From working in a corner shop to running a multi-national corporation, Iqbal Ahmed overcame the odds to rise from humble beginnings to becoming the King Prawn. Known in some circles as “King Prawn”, Iqbal arrived in England at the age of fifteen having fled with his mother and siblings from the war that was then raging in his native Bangladesh. Upon arrival, he joined his father’s business at a corner shop in Oldham, but soon his eye for innovation saw an opportunity which altered his life forever.

It all started in the 80’s when migrants starting flocking into the UK from countries like India, Malaysia, Bangladesh etc. As UK became more cosmopolitan, there came a trend of opening Indian and Chinese restaurants which within a short period of time spread like mushrooms. So, for these restaurants there was a huge demand for seafood and Ahmed grabbed the opportunity of this flourishing industry and became a pioneer in exporting seafood from Bangladesh.

In his opinion the openings of EPZs were all fruitful initiatives and Bangladesh has huge potentials to produce more skilled workers and explore the international market as sky is the limit or in many cases scopes are much more than that

This was just the beginning; eventually he became the provider for a major segment of the total seafood imports. Ahmed made his fortune in importing ocean tiger prawns to the UK from his home country, to the great benefit of many people along the way. His achievements have not gone unnoticed – in 2001 he was appointed OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services to international trade. The OBE is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Seamark plc, a company specializing in frozen seafood which was founded in 1991. His company was one of the highest exporters from Bangladesh between the years 2002-14. It has created the opportunity for thousands to earn their livelihood from working at four factories located in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. Holding a wide range of titles, Ahmed is also the founder, first chairman and sponsor director to the Board of NRB Bank Limited, and Chairman of UKBCCI (UK Bangladesh Catalyst of Commerce and Industry). There are still mixed feeling in the minds of the people with BREXIT.

Iqbal who lives in the UK and visits Bangladesh bi-monthly said that he saw it as a blessing as there is nothing to stop what happened; rather he says it has opened new doors now that business can be run separately with UK and then Europe. He says, ‘People can and should find easier ways to do business and that in the world of digitization, all communication can be run sitting from any corner of the world. It all matters how you take the challenge to communicate and negotiate.’ Ahmed acknowledges that the initiative of opening the NRB was great and it allowed him to bring 46 share holders and investors from around the world to Bangladesh. He says that with the government taking more initiatives, the diaspora can contribute more in the sectors of tourism, agro business and hospitality. In his opinion, the openings of EPZs were all fruitful initiatives and Bangladesh has huge potential to produce more skilled workers and explore the international market as sky is the limit or maybe with time even that limit can be surpassed.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of some non-performing banks, he says that there is still room for improvement and that these banks must improve because the performing banks will not want to merge with them because they will never want to drop down from their benchmark position. Lastly, assuring that NRB Bank will contribute more once it enters into the share market, Ahmed looks toward the government to ensure proper security for investors and be a little more relaxed in foreign exchange. After five years of effort, Ahmed published the book titled King Prawn this year where he revealed stories of his life’s journey in the last sixty years. This story of the entrepreneurial genius is all about dreaming big and making it happen