Archives: Board of Directors

Sami Ahmed is the Managing Director and CEO of Startup Bangladesh Limited (SBL), a flagship Venture Capital Company of Government of Bangladesh. Startup Bangladesh Limited invests in startups in the seed and growth stage and is also involved in policy formulation, supporting targeted and strategic impact investments for the Government, and in supporting the growth of the startup eco-system. Prior to joining Startup Bangladesh Limited, Mr. Ahmed was the Policy Advisor and team leader of the Leveraging ICT (LICT) Project of the Bangladesh Computer Council, ICT Division. Mr. Ahmed’s core responsibilities included Bangladesh IT-ITES Industry promotion and talent development. He has also played a vital role in many policy reforms for the ICT sector. He was the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS) and was instrumental in many policy reforms for the industry and in organizing key ICT events in the country. Mr. Ahmed also worked at the a2i Project of the Prime Minister’s Office where he was part of many national initiatives under the Digital Bangladesh platform and played several roles including leading the Innovation team. Mr Ahmed has also worked in the private sector in various roles: as Chief Operating Officer, Head of MIS and as a startup co-founder.

Mr. Ahmed is also a member of the Smart Bangladesh Taskforce, which is chaired by the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Email: samiahmed@startupbangladeshvc.gov.bd

Mr. Arif Khan is at present the Vice Chairman of Shanta Asset Management. Mr. Khan has played a pivotal role in the field of finance both in public and private sector of Bangladesh and has over 30 years of experience in the financial sectors of Bangladesh.

Prior to joining Shanta Group, he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive of IDLC Finance, where he previously served for 15 years and held key positions, including the role of the deputy managing director. Before joining IDLC as the MD and CEO, Mr. Khan served Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) as a commissioner. During his stint with BSEC he pioneered several reforming initiatives as a capital market regulator under guidance of Honorable Chairman and Ministry of Finance including Stock Exchanges Demutualization, Corporate Governance Code for Publicly Listed Companies, Public Issue Rules, Listing Regulations, Equity Research Rules and many more.

Mr. Khan graduated in Finance and Banking from the University of Dhaka and later completed his MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). He was the president of Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Bangladesh and is the founding President of Bangladesh Merchant Bankers’ Association (BMBA) and CFA society, Bangladesh.

Mr. Hafiz Ahmed Chowdhury, at present, Additional Secretary (Drafting) (Current Charge), Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

He passed SSC from Nawabpur Government High School, Dhaka; HSC from Dhaka College and LL.B (Honors) and LL.M from University of Dhaka successfully. He was also Awarded M.Phil.  from Islamic University, Kushtia and PhD from University of Dhaka. He was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on 16 August, 1994 and 07 March, 1996 respectively. He practiced as an Advocate from 16 August, 1994 to 19 January, 2000 in the District Courts of Bangladesh and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh respectively.

Later on 20 January, 2000 he joined in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs as an Assistant Secretary (Drafting) and started his career in the profession of Legislative Drafting. He was later promoted to Senior Assistant Secretary (Drafting), Deputy Secretary (Drafting) and Joint Secretary (Drafting) in the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs. He has been serving as an Additional Secretary (Drafting) (Current Charge) in the Legislative & Parliamentary Affairs Division of the same Ministry from June 27, 2021 till date.

While in service, he has received various short-term and long-term trainings at home and abroad. He has traveled to UK, Canada, Singapore, India, Nepal, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, France, Finland, Philippines, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Germany.

In his long service career Mr. Hafiz has participated actively in different meetings, workshops, seminars; regional, bi-lateral and multilateral meetings on different negotiations in the country and abroad.

He attended as a member of delegation of 70^th Session of the Committee on the Child Rights held in Geneva, Switzerland on 15-16 September, 2015 for Consideration of CRC reports submitted by Bangladesh (5^th Periodic reports).  He also attended as a member of delegation of 51^st Session of the Committee on the Child Rights held in Geneva, Switzerland on June 3, 2009 for Consideration of CRC reports submitted by Bangladesh (3^rd and 4^th Periodic reports).

In his personal life he is married and blessed with two daughters. His vision is to serve the nation.  His favourite hobby is reading books and papers.

Salina Pervez serves the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for over 28 years. She joined the service in 1995. She is a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and belongs to BCS- 15th batch. She has a science background in her studies. She graduated from Chittagong University with honors and obtained a master’s degree in Chemistry and did her second master’s degree in Public Affairs from BIGM under the University of Dhaka.

Her early career was devoted to field administration, holding positions like Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Upazila Nirbahi Officer. She served in the Judiciary as a Magistrate in district level like, Munshiganj, Madaripur, Chandpur, Cumilla and Brahmanbaria spanning from 1995 to 2006. She is capable of producing work under pressure and meeting deadlines. She has diverse working experience and has excellence in managing the resources of any organization whether human resources or it is financial. She spent more than three years working in the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Relations Division, thus she has experience interacting with development partners mostly with Asian Development Bank (ADB).

She spent two and a half years working for the Information and Communication Technology Division. She has the opportunity to sensitizes different stakeholders to use ICT as a development tool. She is also conscious of the ongoing Industrial Revolutions. She oversaw the Aspire to Innovate (a2i) program as a Joint Project Director and involver in supervising the Innovation Lab of the a2i project and also promote entrepreneurship. While carrying out her responsibilities for the a2i project, she also contributed to simplifying the services delivery process She is capable of producing work under pressure and meeting deadlines. She is a dedicated, self-driven, dependable, responsible, and energetic civil servant across many Ministries/Divisions.

In 2021, she received a promotion in the post of Additional Secretary to the Government. She is currently the Chief of the ‘Administration and Rules’ Wing at the Cabinet Division. One of her many duties is overseeing the Allocation of Business among different Ministries/Divisions. She is carrying out some responsibilities regarding the formation of the Government and upholding Protocol.

She traveled to many countries like, USA, Australia, China, Vietnam, Dubai, Saudi-Arabia, Singapore, Nepal and India which expanded her knowledge and experience. She is curious about the functioning of the nation’s macroeconomic indicators as well as the effects and ramifications of the global economy.
The district Cumilla is her birth place. She is happily married and blessed with a daughter and a son.

MD. MOFIDUR RAHMAN, Director, Board of Directors, Startup Bangladesh Limited and Additional Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Md. Mofidur Rahman, at present, Additional Secretary, Finance Division. He is responsible for Treasury and Debt Management of the Government of Bangladesh. Prior to that, he also served in the Ministry of Public Administration and Ministry of Cultural Affairs. He was Cultural Advisor to the Minister for two years in the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. He worked with district administration in Tangail, Narshingdi and Dhaka as Senior Assistant Commissioner and Magistrate 1st Class. He is a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and belong to B.C.S. 15th batch. He joined Bangladesh Civil Service in 1995.

As a career civil servant, Mr. Rahman attended many trainings, seminar, workshop, panel discussion as well as high level meetings. He was awarded MSc in Public Economic Management and Finance from University of Birmingham under the scholarship program of the Government of Bangladesh in 2005.

Mr. Rahman visited many countries including U.S.A, UK, France, The Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, India, Sri Lanka etc. to attend trainings. His main area of interest is Public Financial Management, Sustainable Development, Public Policy and Innovative Governance.

He is married and blessed by one son and one daughter. He is self-motivated and committed to serve the country. Beside his service he is a prolific writer. His pen name is Mihir Musaki. He has published thirteen books as of today.

Mr. RANAJIT KUMAR, at present, the Executive Director, Bangladesh Computer Council, ICT Division, Bangladesh. Prior to that, he served as Additional Secretary at the same Division. He started his career on 25 April 1994 as Assistant Commissioner and Magistrate at Kurigram District. He is a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and belongs to BCS-13th batch. He obtained B.A (Hons.) and M.A from Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka.

Mr. Kumar has served in almost all the core posts of the field administration like Magistrate, Assistant Commissioner (Land), UNO, ADC in different parts of the country. Besides, he served as NTRCA Secretary in Education Ministry and NBR Secretary in Ministry of Finance. He also worked in Ministry of Fisheries And Livestock, Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of Religious Affairs.

In his long service career, Mr. Kumar participated actively in different meetings, workshops, seminars, regional, bi-lateral and multilateral meetings on different negotiations in the country.

Mr. Kumar was born in Barishal City, Bangladesh. In personal life, Mr. Kumar is married and blessed with one son and one daughter. His vision is to serve the country.

Mr. MD SHAMSUL AREFIN, at present, the Secretary of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division. Prior to that, he served as Secretary, Coordination and Reforms, Cabinet Division. Also, he served as Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary at the same Division. He started his career on 1 April 1993 as Assistant Commissioner and Magistrate at Manikganj District. He is a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and belongs to BCS-11th batch. He obtained B. Com (Hons.) and M. Com from Department of Finance, Dhaka University.

Mr. Arefin has served in almost all the core posts of the field administration like Magistrate, Assistant Commissioner (Land), UNO, DC in different parts of the country. Besides, he served as Deputy Director, Accommodation Directorate, Senior Assistant Secretary, Food and Disaster Management Ministry, Deputy Secretary-Economic Relations Division, Director-Rajdhani Unnayon Kotripokhho (RAJUK). He also worked as Assistant Commissioner (Land), Thana Election Officer and Returning Officer of National and Local Govt. level elections.

In his long service career Mr. Arefin participated actively in different meetings, workshops, seminars; regional, bi-lateral and multilateral meetings on different negotiations in the country and abroad.

He has experiences in preparation, monitoring and evaluation of Annual Performance Agreement (APA), National Integrity Strategy (NIS), and Grievance Redress System (GRS). He participated in a number of training courses both at home and abroad. He took part on “Special Training on Good Governance” in India, “Professional Development Program” in USA, “Project Management” in Australia etc.

He visited several countries including India, Japan, Canada, USA, Australia, Sweden, Finland, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, China. He joined different seminars and workshops as speaker or panelist.

Mr. Arefin is married and blessed with two sons. His vision is to serve the country.