Esrat Karim, Raba Khan named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

Two Bangladeshis were named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list 2020.

Esrat Karim, founder of AMAL Foundation, was named under Social Entrepreneurs category while Raba Khan, of the jhakanaka project, was named under Media, Marketing and Advertising category.

Forbes, the American business magazine, also published a short biography of Esrat and Raba.

Forbes presented this year's edition of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list after choosing from over 2,000 entries which was heavily researched by a team of reporters and vetted by an A-list panel of judges, it said.

Esrat Karim

After completing her master's degree at the University of Colorado, Esrat Karim returned home and cofounded the non-profit organisation AMAL Foundation.

The foundation operates centres that teach victims of child marriage and domestic violence as well as divorcees and widows skills such as making sarees, shawls, wooden accessories and herbal products.

AMAL is currently working with more than 52,000 people in villages across Bangladesh.

Raba Khan

Raba Khan is an entertainer based in Bangladesh, known for mainly comedic videos on her YouTube channel, The Jhakanaka Project.

Khan has become a household name among young Bangladeshis for her amusing videos. Some are satiric, addressing social issues and stereotypes, while others feature Khan singing or lip-syncing, or reenacting old TV commercials.

These days, she is mostly active on Facebook. As a testimony to her influence, Unicef selected Khan in November 2018 as a Youth Ambassador to advocate for children's rights.