Rokia Afzal Rahman ( – 5 April 2023) was a Bangladeshi banker and entrepreneur. She was the first woman bank manager in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. She served as one of advisers of the Caretaker government of Bangladesh in 2001.

Career

Rahman worked in the banking sector until 1980. She then started an agro-business, R.R. Cold Storage Limited which was involved in importing and exporting of potatoes and storage of seeds and potatoes. She then bought another agro-business company, Imaan Cold Storage Ltd. In 1994, Women Entrepreneurs Association (WEA) in Bangladesh was formed with 150 members and Rahman was the founding president. In 1996, she founded Women in Small Enterprises (WISE) to promote the role of women in small enterprises and industries. Rahman served in the Latifur Rahman ministry from 15 July 2001 to 10 October 2001. Rahman was the chairman of the board of directors of the

Asian University for Women Asian University for Women (AUW) is an independent, international university in Chittagong, Bangladesh seeking to educate a new generation of leaders in Asia. AUW admits students solely on the basis of merit, regardless of their family's incom ...

Support Foundation in Bangladesh. She was the founding president of Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs and the chairperson of

MIDAS Financing Limited MIDAS Financing Limited is a major non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh. History MIDAS (Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services) Financing Limited was established on 16 May 1995. It provided financial support to small women ...

. Rahman was the chairperson of Mediaworld Limited, the holding company of The Daily Star. She used to own shares in ABC Radio. Rahman was a board member in several organizations including BRAC, MIDAS, Manusher Jonno, BFF, MRDI, Smiling Sun, Health21.

Death

Rahman died at

Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, is a 333-bed healthcare facility in Singapore that opened on 2 July 2012. It is owned by Parkway Health Parkway Pantai, Ltd. is a medical company based in Singapore and is Southeast Asia's largest private health ...

in Singapore on 5 April 2023, at the age of 82. She had two sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Rokeya Afzal 1940s births 2023 deaths Bangladeshi businesspeople Bangladeshi bankers Advisers of caretaker governments of Bangladesh Year of birth missing