Akij Uddin was born poor in 1929 in Bangladesh and had to leave school to help his father's small business. During a famine, he moved to Kolkata where he took various jobs before starting a small grocery business. This business was successful and he expanded into bidi production, establishing the Akij Group which grew to include over 30 companies employing 32,000 people across various industries such as food, cement, and more. Akij Uddin also engaged in philanthropic work through his Ad-Din Foundation, operating charitable hospitals and orphanages. He passed away in 2006 at age 77 as a highly successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.

1. A Successful Entrepreneur
Business life Story

3. Early Life
 was born in the village Madhyadanga under Fultala upazila
of Khulna in 1929. His mother’s name is Matina Begum. His
father Sheikh Mofij Uddin was an ordinary local trader and
lead a very humble life. Sheikh Akij Uddin was the only
child of his parents as his father was also the only son of
his grandparents. Akij was admitted into a school, but used
to remain away from the school, as he was required to give
time in his father’s business. The economic distress of the
family led Akij to earn for the family. During the Great
Famine of 1942-43, Akij left home and reached CALCUTTA in
search of a job or business.
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4. Having no relative in Calcutta, Akij made the Shialdah
Railway Station his shelter. He used to search some kind
of work all through the day and at night would return to
the platform of the station to sleep using bricks as pillow
under his head.
One day he got a cleaning job at Zakariya Hotel and that
became the point of his rise in fortune. One day, when he
was passing through Ramlochan Street, he observed that
some mobile retailers purchased fruits from the street
sellers on auction and sell those to different parts of the
city. This process attracted him and started this humble
business and started living on his own.
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5. From the beginning of his business life
 As trading groceries was very popular and profitable in
Calcutta, Akij opened a shop named “Nilamwala Chhay
Ana” where every item kept for sale was six ana only.
Shopkeepers sold their goods through reciting Hindi
rhymes but as he did not know Hindi properly, he hired an
assistant for reciting Hindi rhymes.
 One day, police arrested him, the court sentenced him 3
days jail and penalized Rs five. On being free from jail, he
sold all of his so-called business goods.
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6.  In the Meantime Akij was introduced to a Peshawari
businessman and with him he went to Peshawar
where he stayed about two years. He returned to
Calcutta with a modest capital to start any small
business.
 From this business he made a small fortune of about
ten thousand Rupee and returned home to meet his
parents, but they did not survive long to see their
great son to become great in the society. Akijuddin
married Sakhina Khatun at the age of 19, a good time
to get married in those days.
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7.  Akij met Bidhu Bhushan, friend of his father, who was
then famous for his patent Bidhu Bidi. With his help,
Akij started his BIDI (cigarette) production in the year
1952. Alongside, he also established a grocery shop
near Bezerdanga rail station. He made profit from
both. He branded his BIDI as Akij Bidi. From 1954, he
printed label for his bidi. His brand got popularity
rapidly. The bidi business flourished unabated. By
1960-62, the manpower of his bidi factory rose to
250 workers. Akijuddin expanded his enterprise to
more areas, such as rice, jute, paddy etc. By 1972,
Akij made a substantial capital for greater investment.
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8. Akij Group of Industry was top 7 in 10

9.  He formed an industrial group called Akij Group, as of
now. Akij Group made profits and expanded its activities
still further and turned one of the leading entrepreneurial
leaders in the country. Under the umbrella of the Akij
Group, the following industrial units are there by 1998:
 Akij Bidi Factory Limited (1950),
 SAF Industries Limited (1960),
 Dhaka Tobacco Industries Limited (1966),
 Akij Printing and Packaging Limited (1974),
 Akij Transport Agencies Limited (1980),
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10.  Navaron Printing and Packaging Limited (1980),
 Jess Pharmaceutical Limited (1986),
 Akij Match Factory Limited (1992),
 Akij Jute Mills Limited (1994),
 Akij Cement Company Limited (1995),
 Akij Textiles Mills Limited (1995),
 Akij Particle Board Limited (1996),
 Akij Housing Limited (1997),
 Savar Industries Limited (1998),
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11.  Akij Foods and Beverage Limited (2000),
 Akij Online Limited (2000), Nebula Ink Limited (2000),
 Akij Corporation Limited (2001), Akij Computer
Limited (2001),
 Akij Institute of Technology Limited (2001),
 Akij Agro Limited (2004), and
 Akij Paper Mills Limited (2005). About thirty two
thousand people work in the Akij business empire.
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12.  Akij Group is actively involved in various socio-
cultural activities. The Group has been operating a
sizeable orphanage free of charge in district town.
The Group has also acquired a modern mother and
children hospital previously owned by Save the
Children (UK). The hospital is being operated as a not-
for-profit concern by AD-DIN WELFARE CENTRE and Ad-
Din Foundation, which Akij Uddin founded with the
inspiration and collaboration of another social activist
Professor MOHAMMAD SHARIF HUSAIN. The great
entrepreneur and philanthropist died on 10 October
2006 at the age of 77. [Muhammad Abdul Mazid]
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