T�te-�-t�te with Sayma Rahman
by Sheikh Iraj
Sayma Rahman, a young enthusiastic corporate personal, she has been working at Grameenphone Ltd. as a Senior Specialist on Digital Partnership under Commercial Division. It has been eight years since she started working for Grameenphone and she believes Bangladesh is a land of opportunity when it comes to technology. Inspired by her father she always wanted to be independent at her work. After making a niche for herself in the telecommunication industry she plans to start something of her own. Weekend Independent met her for an Interview.
Did you plan to be in this sector?
Not really, not in Tech industry. I am a pure business student majoring International Business Marketing in my undergrad. I was fascinated with Brands after attending a specialized course on Brand Management and wanted to pursue my career in that field.
When I joined Robi as an intern, I was doing market research. I quickly figured that I am not meant to do excel sheet, statistics or SQL programming. And then I took the leap of faith, I joined Grameenphone in a core product team.
It was rough initially, a new world for me surrounded by tech jargons. But it happened eventually, I fell in love with technology.
Please tell us was it your dream to be what you are today?
We dont know what we want until we explore and experience. I had different dreams at different stages of my life. My favorite subject in school was Physics and I wanted to be an Astronaut. My father wanted me to be a doctor because hes in the same profession. I wanted to work in brand management during my college days.
Looking back I am very happy to be where I am today. It was my destiny. Technology is something that changes millions of lives. There is just so much to do, to invent, to create. It feels amazing to be in an industry which truly celebrates creativity, nurtures talents and empowers people.
What changes have you brought in digital services, we know that in last Three years the number of internet users have increased and they can get those services directly from the internet?
When we launched 3G in Bangladesh, everyone had access to fast internet but most didnt know what to do with it. Majority of people are still unaware of the concept of Internet. They think Internet is complicated and that they have no need of it. We also dont have most of our basic services and contents available online.
Thats where Grameenphone comes into the picture. We have the ambition of spreading internet awareness through our Internet for All initiative. At the same time we want to promote the utilities of Internet. My role of Digital Partnership comes in handy when we increase this penetration through partnerships. When big names like Facebook, Google Microsoft join hands with GP to spread internet knowledge in the country, we can easily reach 160 million people.
We also have a lot of local sites and apps that need to be promoted. People in Bangladesh use internet for Facebook. They need to start using it for other benefits. Students in rural areas should know that they have access to Wikipedia and shikkhok.com. We want to make these services easily accessible for our customers.
Are more and more women like you coming to this field of work?
No, sadly not many women are entering tech field. Even in my team we have very few women colleagues. I would love to see more female in core teams of tech companies.
What is the reason behind it?
There can be many reasons, especially in Bangladesh. Working in a core team requires extra hours at office, sacrificing family time at home. Many families wouldnt allow their daughters, sisters or wives to make such sacrifices. Families need to inject big dreams in their daughters from an early age, they need to encourage them to be independent. Girls in general are still getting married at a young age and starting family. One should learn to live, travel, learn, build career, follow their passion, be the best she can be. It is very important to be self-sufficient and family can be a big support system for women.
Did your family inspire you to do what you wanted to do?
Absolutely. My father is my inspiration. He taught me to be independent. I have been fortunate enough to travel around the world from a very young age. Traveling teaches a person to have an open mind and respect differences. I learnt reading books from him. He taught me how to cook, ride a bicycle and drive a car. He has been my biggest cheerleader. I am very thankful that my family has always supported my decisions and let me be.
What is the future of digital services and please tell us about your future plans?
Bangladesh is a land of opportunities, especially in the digital arena. We have a large untapped market and a lot of services to offer. Anything we start here is new. People even 5 years back didnt think of ordering food online. Today we have so many successful food delivery apps.
I was applying for a new passport last week and was thinking it would have been great if we could do the entire passport process online. I could fill out the form, pay the fees, submit required documents online. It could save my time and hassle. May be someone will come up with this solution very soon.
I dont know where life will take me in the future. I want to stick to tech field. It is my specialty and passion. I have plans to start something of my own, Inshallah.
