Md. Sabur Khan

Chairman, Daffodil International University;

Director World IT & Services Alliance (WITSA)

& Chairman, Global Trade Committee;

As a social entrepreneur and a self-made businessman I started my business career in 1990 by establishing the first public listed IT Company, Daffodil Computers Ltd. With my intention to contribute to the society through business and to empower people, I focused on extending my knowledge experience and strength in the field of IT and Education. Since, I could foresee the demand for skilled IT personnel at home and abroad, I ventured into establishing educational institutions where knowledge could be made available at an affordable cost. I strongly believe that through specialized IT education, the youth would make the country technologically advanced to fight poverty and to make the youth employable. With the passage of time Daffodil would emerge as the largest conglomeration of education and training involved in more than a dozen of large-scale projects. Bangladesh, being a developing economy needs to be computer savvy and to provide computers at an affordable price to the young generation I introduced assembled PC in 1991 and the country’s first super store idea in 1995. This was followed by expansion of IT education institute – Daffodil Institute of IT in 1996. The first brand Daffodil PC hit the market in 1997 and the first online job portal subsequently. It was for the first time in the history of Bangladesh that fully digitized private University – Daffodil international University started in 2002.

During my journey so far I have done some other things for which I am being recognized. This always gives me the satisfaction of being successful but I believe that my best is yet to come and I shall always work for taking my country from a Developing Economy to a Developed one.

Involvement in spread of Education:

In order to provide quality education of International standard at an affordable cost I established a conglomeration of Institutes with Brand Daffodil. These are

• Daffodil International University (DIU)
• Daffodil Institute of IT
• Daffodil International Academy
• Daffodil Polytechnic Institute
• Daffodil International Professional Training institute
• Daffodil International College
• Daffodil International School
• Daffodil Technical Institute
• Daffodil Institute of Languages
• Bangladesh Skill Development Institute
• Premier International Academy
• Human Resources Development Institute
• Career Development Center

Training Units:

• Human Resource Development Institute
• Skill.jobs
• Career Development Center

Contribution in IT sector:

• 1st local Brand PC DaffodilPC in Bangladesh launched in 1998
• 1st Clone computer assembling with the name CDCOM with warranty
• Bangladesh’s 1st Computer Super Store in 1995
• Job portal jobsbd 1998
• Fastest Internet service Provider Daffodil Online.ltd.
• 1st and only ISO 9001:2000 certified Brand PC - 1999
• 1st ICT solution company enlisted as Public Limited Co.2000
• Conducted Govt. of Bangladesh project as BOT basis - 2001
• Computerization project for Bangladesh Railways, Ministry of Communication,
• Dhaka City Corporation, ICT Ministry

Contribution in Entrepreneurship:

• Creating 2000 Entrepreneurs (E2K)
• DIU Industry Academia Lecture Series on Entrepreneurship Development
• Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (BE) (Undergraduate Program)
  • Masters in Entrepreneurship (Proposed) (Postgraduate Program)
• Daffodil Business Incubator
• Career Development Centre (CDC)
• DIU Short Term Mobility Programs in Asia
• Global Youth Entrepreneurship Summit
• Affiliation with Kauffman FastTrack®
• Get in the Ring (GITR)
• Global Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (GYES)
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Expo
• Social Business Students Forum (SBSF)
• School of Entrepreneurship
• Apprenticeship Program
• Startup Market
• Entrepreneur Guidance Program (EGP)
• Entrepreneur’s Skills Development Institute (ESDI)
• Bangladesh Venture Capital Limited (BVCL)
• Daffodil Industrial Innovation Park (DIIP)
• Innovation & Incubation Centre (IIC)
• Global Entrepreneurship Summer Program (GESC)
• Enterprise Competitiveness Institute (ECI)
• ART of Living
• Global Money Week (GMW)
• Seminar on "Entrepreneurs Meet Up”, organized by Daffodil Entrepreneurs Network
• Social Business Course
• Are You the Next Startup?
• Business Incubator
• Publications: Handbook of Entrepreneurship Development, Uddokta Unnoyan
• Nirdesika, A Journey towards Entrepreneurship, Art of Living
• Social Business Design Lab

Contribution in Health Sector:

• Newtec Pharmaceuticals Ltd
• Cardio Care Specialized & General Hospital

Contribution in Social Sector:

Establishment of Daffodil Institute of Social Sciences (DISS):

I always believe in giving back to society hence I have always tried to contribute whatever I can in addressing societal issues. I strongly believe that education can empower and the poor and voiceless can be assets to the society if given scope. In order to provide a level playing field I have been trying through all my means. Since Poverty and ignorance are the two main hindrances in the path of country’s progress, I have been trying to do away with these through education. DISS has been established to cater to the needs of underprivileged, disadvantaged, orphan children of Bangladesh through provision of Food, Accommodation, Health care and education from Kindergarten to Post graduation absolutely free.

Daffodil Industrial Innovation Park (DIIP):

Proposed in Dhaka – Chittagong Highway (Business Incubator to facilitate youth to be Doers.

Daffodil Foundation:

His social contributions through Daffodil Foundation (A trust funded by Daffodil) have also been creating lot of scopes to eradicate the poverty.

Position Held:

Chairman:

• DIU, Dhaka
• Global trade Committee of WITSA
• Standing Committee on Industrialization in 64 Districts FBCCI
• FBCCI HRD Standing Committee

President:

• Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry(DCCI)
• Bangladesh Computer Samiti (BCS)
• Statistic Alumni Association, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka

High Commissioner:

• World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) for Bangladesh

Vice President:

• Junior Chamber International (JCI)

Director:

• Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute
• Bangladesh Services Limited
• Dhaka WASA
• Dhaka Stock Exchange
• Security & Exchange Commission
• Export Promotion Bureau
• Bangladesh Titas Gas
• Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre
• Bangladesh Submarine Cable co. Ltd.
• National Board of Revenue
• Export Development Council
• High-Level Asia Pacific Policy Dialogue/ ERD/Finance Ministry
• Committee of the Pvt. Sector Development policy Coordination, Prime Minister Office
• National Committee on Export, Ministry of Commerce
• Trade facilitation Council of SAARC CCI 92012-13
• Committee of the Inter-Ministerial & Consultative Meeting on Draft Bangladesh

Advisor:

• Multimedia Association of Bangladesh
• Small & Medium Enterprise (SME)
• National board of revenue (NBR)

Member

• Prime Minister ICT Taskforce
• ICT Ranking Committee Ministry of Science & Information and Communication
• Technology
• ICT Parliamentary Standing Committee
• ICT Committee Dhaka Stock Exchange
• ICT Committee of Bangladesh Investment Board
• Standing Committee, National Computer Programming contest Ministry of Science
• & Information and Communication Technology
• Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organization
• Association of Private Universities, Bangladesh (APUB)
• Asian University Presidents Forum (AUFP)
• Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA)
• International Association of University Presidents (IAUP)
• International Association of Universities (IAU)
• Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific(AUAP)
• Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
• Turkey-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TBCCI)
• Institute of International Education (IIE)
• American Council on Education (ACE)
• European Association of International Education(EAIE)
• Global Access Asia (GAA)
• World IT & Services Alliance (WITSA)
• Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services
• Association of overseas Technical scholarship
• Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industries(BMCCI)
• Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industries (IBCCI)
• Australia-Bangladesh Business Council
• Korea Bangladesh Chamber & industries (KBCCI)
• American Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AmCham)
• Commonwealth Business Council

Significant Awards / Honours:

• Global Inclusion Award-2017
• MTC Global Outstanding Corporate Award-ICT-2016
• Asia’s most Inspiring Nation Builder -2014
• World Education Congress Global Award-2013
• World Quality Commitment Gold Award, Paris-2010
• Golf Championship Award-2007 GEMCON
• Prime Minister’s Award-2006
• Best ICT Entrepreneur in the world by WITSA 2004
• HSBC Gold Award-2002
• Bangladesh Anti-Drug Award-2001
• Lifetime Achievement for ICT Journalism, BCS ComputerCity-2013
• Contribution as Director DCCI, (2004-2006) – 2006

Significant Achievements through Participation:

Session speakers in many national and international conferences, seminar, platforms as well as-

• Leader of Bangladesh Delegation, Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC)
• Guest of Honor, 11th Convocation of UniMAP, Malaysia, 2016
• Convocation Speaker, 23rd Commencement Exercises of Pan Pacific University,
• North Philippines, 2016
• 8th World Chambers Congress workshop by ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF)
• 2013
• National representative of ITC/ONCTAD/WTO for EMDS/ITC/UNCTAD through
• ECI-2004
• Creation of Ministry of science & ICT (Suggestion approved by Prime Minister)-2002
• Successfully convinced the Government to withdraw 7.5% VAT/TAX on IT
• Industry-2002
• Shared the dais as President of BCS Computer fair for 2 consecutive terms 2002 &
• 2003 with Hon’ble Prime Minister and His Excellency the President of Bangladesh as
• Chief Guests
• Led Bangladeshi delegation in Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization,
• Kathmandu, Nepal 2001
• Led Bangladeshi delegation in Asian ICT Minister Seminar, Thailand, 2001

Interaction with World Leaders:

• Crown Prince of Perlis and Chancellor of UniMAP, Malaysia, HRH Tuanku Syed
• Faizuddin Putra Ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, 2015
• Founder, KIIT University and KIIS, Odisha, India, Dr. Achyuta Samanta, 2014
• President, WITSA, Santiago Gutierrez, 2014
• President, Bangladesh Md. Abdul Hamid, 2013
• Nobel Laureate for Peace, Aung San Suu Kyi, 2014
• President, Bangladesh, Mohammed Zillur Rahman, 2012
• Minister in Charge, Dept. of Higher Education, India, Shri Bratya Basu, 2012
• Prime Minister, Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, 2009
• President, Bangladesh, Tajuddin Ahmed, 2007
• Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Mr. Bill Gates, 2006
• President, Bangladesh, AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, 2003
• President , Indonesia H.E. Meghabati Sukarnaputri, 2002
• President, USA, H.E. Bill Clinton, 2002
• Prime Minister, Australia, H.E. John Howard, 2002
• Prime Minister, Bangladesh, HE Begum Khaleda Zia, 2002
• Prime Minister, Thailand, H.E. Thaksin Shinawatra, 2001

 

Conferences, Seminars & Fairs:

• 15th AUAP Learning and Sharing Forum, Romania, 2017
• 6th Annual Global Inclusion Awards, Germany, 2017
• Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Thailand, 2017
• 14th South Asian Management Forum, Maldives, 2017
• Cardiff Met Partner Conference, UK, 2017
• Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), South Africa, 2017
• Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF), Malaysia, 2017
• 6th International Conference on "Human Values in Higher Education
• (ICHVHE-2017)”, India, 2017
• Bangladesh Trade & Investment Summit, Malaysia, 2016
• IAU 15th General Conference, Thailand, 2016
• Asian University Presidents Forum (AUPF), Japan, 2016
• World Export Development Forum (WEDF), Sri Lanka, 2016
• World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), Brazil, 2016
• World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT), Brazil, 2016
• iNurture Education Solutions Private Limited, India, 2016
• Valedictory Program at 6th Annual Global Convention cum Award Ceremony, India
• DRUGSTECH International Joint Conference, Indonesia, 2016
• International Trade Centre (ITC), Switzerland, 2016
• International Model United Nations of Children, Switzerland, 2016
• Gyeonggi Centre for Creative Economy & Innovation (GCCEI), Korea, 2016
• Asian Oceania Computing Organization (ASOCIO) officers meeting, Korea, 2016
• Japan IT week, Japan, 2016
• ACE2016— 98th Annual Meeting, USA, 2016
• WITSA BOD and Committee Meetings & AIIA Summit, Australia, 2016
• Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) High-Level Meeting, Thailand, 2016
• WITSA Board and Committee meetings, India, 2015
• 14th Asian University Presidents Forum (AUPF), China, 2015
• “Asian Higher Education Connectivity: Vision, Process and Approach”, Bangladesh,2015
• IAU 2015 International Conference on Internationalization of Higher Education, Italy,2015
• 27th Annual European Association for International Education (EAIE) Conference, Scotland, 2015
• Launching Ceremony, Global Access Asia (GAA), Korea, 2015
• Global Education Dialogues, South Asia Series, Sri Lanka, 2015
• 1st International Joint Conference Indonesia Malaysia Bangladesh Ireland, (IJCIMBI) 2015
• Business and I.T. Festival III, Malaysia, 2015
• 23rd NASSCOM India Leadership Forum, India, 2015
• 13th AUPF, Thailand, 2014
• World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), Mexico, 2014
• Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), Croatia, 2014
• Institute of Technology & Education (ITB), Germany, 2014
• 26th Annual EAIE Conference, Prague, 2014
• US-Bangladesh Tech Investment Summit, USA, 2014
• IAUP XVll Triennial Conference, Japan, 2014
• Burkina Faso Singapore Business Forum, Singapore, 2014
• South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC), Thailand, 2013
• World Chamber Congress, Qatar, 2013
• World Trade Bridge, Turkey, 2012
• Turkey World Trade Bridge, 2012
• LDC summit, Turkey, 2011
• Islamic Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) Business Conference, Iran, 2006
• Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Business Conference, Iran, 2006
• OIC e-Business Conference, Thailand, 2005
• IT outsourcing Fair, China, 2005
• Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX), UAE, 2004
• Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan, 2004
• Supercom, USA, 2004
• E-Trade Bridge Network Program, ICT/UNCTAD/WTO, Geneva, Switzerland, 2004
• ICT Business Promotion Council Assembly, Silicon Valley, USA, 2003
• CeBIT, Germany, 2003
• World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Switzerland, 2003
• World Congress of IT (WCIT), Australia, 2002
• ASOCIO summit, Thailand, 2002
• Hewlett Packard DOM Event for AEC countries, Singapore, 2001
• Trade of IT Education, NCC-UK, UAE, 2000
• COMDEX, USA, 2000

Publications:

• Handbook of Entrepreneurship Development
• Uddokta Unnayon Nirdesika (Bangla)
• Art of Living
• A Journey Towards Entrepreneurship

Country visited:

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina, Faso, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Libya, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Poland, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Africa, South, Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, U.A.E, UK, USA and lot more.