Unlike any other regular dream of doing something great and contributing to the nation’s development, Rubina Akter aspired to export her products to different world countries and serve her life’s goal of working in the fashion industry. After graduating with honors in economics from the National University, Rubina moved to Bangalore, India, to pursue a diploma in fashion design. That diploma is advantageous in later times. In the meantime, she has set up his own brand, which is called “Design by Rubina.” She makes jute and leather bags-shoes-jackets etc., under this brand name and sells them at home and abroad.
Design by Rubina’s main factory is located in Tongi, and its office is in Farmgate, Dhaka. While responding to queries regarding her, Rubina said that they design the products by themselves, which earns a handsome amount of revenue from it. Although the business started with the manufacture of jute products, now there is more trade in leather products.
Rubina said, “When I returned to the country in 2008 after finishing my studies in India, I had no money. So to raise business capital, I first took a job as a designer in an organization. That company paid me Tk 35,000 a month. For two years, I used to save money from that salary so that I could start something on my own.”
When the amount of money Rubina saved in 2010 stood at Tk 80,000, she started the business by capitalizing on it and naming it following her name. At that time, only jute products were made.
Commenting on her business, Rubina said, “I was always trying to improve myself, that’s why I did MBA along with business, which has been very helpful in understanding business accounts.”
At one point, Rubina realized that leather goods can be exported to more countries than jute goods. For that, in 2015, she started investing in making leather goods. She used to invest the income earned from jute products in making leather goods. The advantage of this case was that both types of jute and leather products could be made with almost the same technique.
Rubina Akhter said, “When I went into business, very few entrepreneurs created their own designs. Those who were in this business, they only worked according to the order.”
“Taking advantage of this opportunity, I quickly captured the market. In the beginning, I used to invest in the business again. As a result, the business is slowly growing,” she added.
Rubina said that the monthly sales have already exceeded Tk 1 million. Rubina said that there is currently a factory of about four and a half thousand square feet in Tongi. 35 workers are working there.
Rubina said so far; she has exported jute and leather products to Dubai, Qatar, the Philippines, Poland, and Qatar. “Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV has taken some travel bags from us,” she said proudly. In addition, Rubina added that some work is also going on now with the shopping malls in Dubai. Before the Coronavirus pandemic, we have exported goods worth Tk 7 million. Now I have received some new export orders again,
Rubina Akhter said that she is now working hard to establish a brand in her own name regarding future business plans. Furthermore, she is working with the dream of becoming a prominent designer so that various products made in his design can be displayed in big shopping malls of all countries of the world.
