A tiny five-by-ten tin-roofed shack seemed to be the centre of attention in the market.
There were more than a hundred people waiting in queue in front of Rashed Mia’s shop in the local market of Patgram upazila, about 80km from Lalmonirhat district.
The interior of the shop was a sight to behold. With hundreds of various charging devices and entangled power cables scattered across, the shop was no less than a tech-hub. There are literally several hundred mobile phone chargers of all conceivable shapes and sizes in that small shop.
The savvy proprietor Rashed Mia, in his 40s, had managed to tap into a niche market of Patgram. He provides charging facilities for mobile phones, rechargeable torches and various other devices to the villagers.
The throng of people waiting outside was there to retrieve their mobile phones which were being charged throughout the day.
Rashed has a neat system to manage his huge number of clients and inventory. He hands out a token for every mobile device when it is deposited.
He never has to refuse any client since his shop has every kind of electric plug-points and mobile phone chargers.
“People from adjacent villages come to the town and charge their phones here as there is no electricity in some of the villages in the upazila,” Rashed said.
Usually customers come to the town in the morning, deposit their phones for charging and take them back in the evening while going home after completing their chores in the town.
“I charge Tk5 for one device each time. When I started my business here, my income was around Tk5000 to 6000 per day. But now it has decreased a bit as more villages are coming under electrification. However business is still not that bad given how the number of mobile phone users is increasing everyday,” he said confidently.
Rashed said there were some two hundred mobile phone chargers and some two hundred plugs for charging rechargeable torches. To ensure uninterrupted power supply throughout, he had also installed a generator for his shop.
Shuruzzaman, a motorbike driver in Patgram, said there were two such shops in the upazila and they both remain very busy. “I charge my phone here everyday. Though my village has electricity but loadshedding is very frequent.”
Sohel Mia, a small trader said: “I spend the whole day in the market. So I deposit my phone for charging and take it back when I go home in the evening.”
He also pointed out that Rashed had gained customers’ trust and people did not hesitate to leave their devices with him.
When asked, Rashed said he started the business realising the need of the villagers, who were also relieved to have found such a service.
Without any academic background or institutional knowledge on technology, Rashed taught himself the basic use of mobile phones and was inspired by the changes telecommunication sector had brought in his village in recent times.
He dreams to expand his business and encourage others to become self-dependent.
