Doha, April 25, 2016: Mohammad Muktda MU is from a minority Muslim community in Nepal and started in Qatar in 2004 at the marketing section of a leading food company.
Five years later, he had gained enough experience and savings to set up three of his companies.
Initially he hired 30 Nepalese employees; now he employs more than 200. He says he did not bring a “single penny†from Nepal — everything he invested, he earned in Qatar.
His first venture was Ideal Contracting and Cleaning Company, followed by Kathmandu Trading and Contracting Company and Kathmandu Import and Export Company. In order to hire skilled employees for his companies, he has even opened a manpower agency back home called Dream and Guide Management System.
Belonging to a middleclass family, Muktda had just completed his school-level education when he came to Qatar.
Now he feels as if he has gotten his PhD, given all the entrepreneurial experienced he has gained since he started his first company.
“When I came here, I knew neither English nor Arabic,†Muktda says, “Now I am pretty decent [in communicating] in the two languages.â€
A quick learner, Muktda learnt both languages in a very short time. But he feels that the skills, knowledge and experience he gained at his first job are even greater.
Before coming to Qatar, Muktda had opened a computer training institute and a cybercafé in his home village. But he had to shut his business down after just one year due to frequent strikes. To pay off his debt, he started his luck with farming, which also failed.
“We are five brothers, and at that time we all were jobless,†Muktda recalls. “I was in the middle, and I thought of migrating abroad and supporting my younger brothers and sister. This is how I came to Qatar.â€
Muktda feels that hard work alone is not enough when he compares the success of his ventures in Qatar to his failures back home. Conducive environment is very important. Moreover, he had the help of his friends in getting his companies off the ground. He especially mentions the name of Hussein Khan.
Muktda’s ventures have now expanded beyond Qatar. He has opened a real estate business in Nepal and has bought a large plot in Kathmandu for a three-star hotel. He expects to start construction in a few months.
He has successfully financed the education of his younger brothers. All four of his brothers are now in Qatar, working for his companies in marketing, accounting and documentation sections. He bore the cost of his sister’s wedding.
“My entire family lives here; my children attend a reputed school in Doha. All thanks goes to my sponsor,†Muktda says.
Muktda is also active in the social sector and promotes a lot of social activities carried out by the Nepalese community. Last year, he supported a glitzy film award programme held in Asian Town. He has donated to support earthquake survivors in Nepal. He also ran for the post of the first vice-president of Non-Resident Nepalese Association-Qatar (NRNA-NCC). He lost by 14 votes. Muktda is a secretariat member of NRNA-NCC and an adviser of Kapilvastu Muslim Society (KMS). His involvement with KMS has financed the wedding of two poor girls from Kapilvastu district.
Source: Gulf Times
