Integrity, quality construction and timely delivery of projects can bring lasting success and reliability in the real estate business, said Tanvir Ahmed, managing director of Sheltech Group, one of the leading realtors in Bangladesh.

"Taking shortcut in business is not sustainable and ethical. Integrity is the best policy for achieving outstanding success in business," the young businessman said.

Sheltech is one of the pioneers in the real estate and housing industry in Bangladesh and has been delivering quality projects since its inception in 1988. It develops residential flats, shopping centres and commercial buildings.

Till date, Sheltech has completed 170 projects and handed over more than 4,200 flats to customers. It has 25 ongoing projects in different parts of the capital city.

Ahmed took the helm of the company eight months ago after its founder and then managing director Toufiq M Seraj passed away in June.

He is also a director of Envoy Group, which has interests in textile and garment business and boasts the first denim factory in the world that obtained LEED Platinum certification, the highest certification awarded by the US Green Building Council.

"Since the beginning, Sheltech has been committed to quality design and construction. All the buildings of Sheltech have been designed as per the national building codes," Ahmed told The Daily Star in an interview at their corporate office at the Envoy Building on Panthapath recently.

"We have emphasised building structures with quality raw materials and maintaining integrity. The company has been committed to providing quality housing solution from the beginning. This is the strength of the company."

Each building is capable of withstanding code-specified natural disasters such as earthquake. Not only that, each building is equipped with an emergency fire exit to protect residents from an unlikely event of fire.

In its 32-year business history, Sheltech hasn't received complaints from clients and has no history of lengthy process of delivering projects or flats, Ahmed said.

Sheltech's flat size ranges between 1,300 and 1,500 square feet with prices from Tk 5,500 to Tk 6,000 per square feet, or Tk 80 lakh to Tk 1.5 crore in total.

The company, which caters to the middle income and higher middle-income people, also constructs high-end flats priced Tk 10 crore to Tk 12 crore, although their number is low.

Sheltech is also the pioneer in flat-sharing concept with land-owners in Bangladesh, said Ahmed, who holds a master's degree from Cardiff University, a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours from Kingston University and a diploma from the London School of Economics, all based in the UK.  

His area of expertise is business management, administration and finance, while his entrepreneurship involves not only real estate, textiles and garments but also hospitality service, financial trading, aviation and ceramics.

Sheltech began its journey when the real estate business was at a nascent stage in the country, but the sector has flourished a lot in the last three decades.

Before undertaking a project, its experts conduct a market survey to find out whether the project will be feasible.

The realtor does not go for small projects such as those on a land of five katha – rather it prefers at least 10-katha plot to ensure quality and make the projects environment-friendly.

However, it depends on location. For example, in Gulshan and Banani, where land is very scarce and expensive, it builds projects on seven to eight kathas of land, he said.

He referred to his father, Kutubuddin Ahmed, also the chairman and co-founder of Sheltech as well as the founder of Envoy Group, when it comes to giving somebody a steer on entrepreneurship or how to start a business.

"My father had no business experience but he had a dream. He worked hard and finally he became successful. Success in business results from hard work, integrity, big dream and idea," he said.

According to Ahmed, if somebody has no capital to start a business but has good ideas or strong mentality to work hard, he will definitely come out successful. "Capital is not a major factor for doing business."

New entrepreneurs should find out new business ideas or the scope in the existing business, he noted.

As a young businessman, he too faced challenges as he could not perform like his predecessor or his father who built up the group.

"I had to work hard and learn a lot for further improvement," Ahmed said.

"If a businessman thinks that he knows everything, he will never succeed. A businessman always has to learn."

Success of a business also depends on team work, as a single person can't run an enterprise, Ahmed said.

Businessmen have to mix with a wide variety of people and treat employees as family members so that a sense of ownership grows within the staff.

"Punctuality, connection with stakeholders and treating employees well help grow businesses from strength to strength."

Sheltech celebrated its founding anniversary on March 12. On the occasion, it has organised Sheltech Anniversary Housing Fair 2020.

The company is giving special offers to prospective buyers. Clients who will buy flats in Dhaka will get land for free in different sites of Sheltech located outside of the capital during the month-long fair.

Although Sheltech started as a developer, it has branched out to other related businesses such as construction and real estate consultancy.

It employs more than 300 professionals, including architects and engineers, who have been picked on the basis of excellent technical and management skills. Additionally, a well-trained pool of 3,000 workers is employed at various projects of Sheltech.

"Dedication, hard work and experience of the Sheltech team have made it one of the top real estate companies in Bangladesh," said Ahmed, currently an executive committee member of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation and a director of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Sheltech is also one of the founding members of the Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh.