Life of a successful entrepreneur: Mr. Jahurul Islam

Jahurul Islam was one of those who have been discussed very frequently in the history of business and entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. He was born in Bhagalpur, a village iii Bajitpur thana under Kishoregonj district. His father Mr. Aftab Uddin was a tiny contractor in Mymensingh district board. His father had small income with which he used to run his business staying in his village home. His mother Mrs Rahima Aktar was a very pious housewife. She was very well known amongst her neighbors. Mr Islam lost his father in 1972. He was the second son of his parents .He had four more brothers and three sisters. Jahurul Islam had very simple and ordinary boyhood and was fond of making friends from middle class families only. He started his schooling in Chandragram local Patshala and then in the Shibnath High School. When he was a student of class five, he was sent to his uncle’s house in Calcutta, where he studied in Chetla High School. But due to the transferable job of his uncle, he had to shift to a number of schools.

In 1945, he passed matriculation from Ripon High School. Later, he went to Bardwan, where he studied I.A but he failed to pass in the final examination. In 1948, he appeared again from Haraganga College at Munshiganj. This time also he failed which brought the end of his formal education. From the very boyhood, Jahurul Islam had a knack towards carrying on independent business. He conceived the idea from his father’s business. In 1948, he joined a job in the C&B department with a monthly salary of Tk. 77.5. Later on he became a lower division clerk in the same department with a monthly salary of Tk. 80. In 1951, after a period of two and a half years he left the job and started his business as a 3rd class contractor with a very little amount of money that he could manage. Initially, banks did not