Emerging young women from a variety of walks of life need to be recognized and celebrated for their contributions to society. It is from this concept that bti and The Daily Star first collaborated in 2023 for the initiative "bti The Daily Star Stellar Women." It was decided then that twelve women from twelve different categories would receive this prestigious recognition. The first two awards for the second season of this initiative were given out recently.

A small, informal event was held at bti Celebration Point, Gulshan-2 in Dhaka. It honored two exemplary women, Nomrota Sarker for her unique idea of "Saus Taus" in the "Entrepreneur" category, and MouriMorium in the "Writer" category for the book "Naiori."

This year, some of the categories are completely new — a concept that will be adopted every year moving forward, with an aim of recognizing women who have been working hard in their respective fields but have yet to receive their deserved recognition.

After the successful wrap-up of the first season with a Gala event, the "Stellar Women" initiative is going full steam ahead. Registrations and nominations for the following categories are ongoing: "Marketing Professional," "Sports," "Architect (Residential & Commercial)," "Art & Culture," "Engineering (Construction, Structure, Water Resource & MEP)," "Bank & Financial Institute," "Healthcare," "Environment," and finally "Agriculture."

bti Managing Director F.R. Khan, Head of Sales and Marketing of The Daily Star Imran Kadir, and Ayesha Siddiqua, Executive Director of Brand and Communication Management at bti, graced the event with their presence.