NSU’s ‘The Dependables’ wins BizMaestros 2021

After a grueling competition among the top six contenders from five universities across Bangladesh, team ‘The Dependables’ became the champions of Unilever’s ‘BizMaestros 2021’.

This is the first time any team from North South University has won the BizMaestros championship.

The champion team- comprised of Taher Shabbir Mahuwala, Afnan Sayed and Abrar Mahir Ahmed, will represent Bangladesh at the Global Platform of Unilever Future Leaders’ League (FLL 2021) in London, according to a press release.

Team ‘Code Red’ from Islamic University of Technology University became first runners up while team ‘Leftover Pizza’ from IBA-Jahangirnagar University has been named the second runner up.

All these contenders from the top 3 teams will now be provided the opportunity to avail an internship under Unilever Leadership Internship Programme (ULIP). Apart from the top 3 teams, those who qualify for the second round throughout the competition will be in the talent pipeline for future recruitment opportunities at Unilever Bangladesh, the press release adds.

Following all the Covid-19 guidelines and health safety protocols, the grand finale was arranged on 30 November at a city hotel, where the 6 finalist teams were evaluated by a panel of business leaders and industry experts including Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd's managing director Rupali Chowdhury, Apex Footwear Ltd's managing director Syed Nasim Manzur, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd's chief executive officer and managing director Zaved Akhtar, and Unilever Consumer Care Ltd's managing director KSM Minhaj.

‘BizMaestros 2021’ kicked-off on 17 October with the theme “Navigating in the New Normal”.

More than 340 students participated in the first-round of ‘BizMaestros 2021’, where the three-member teams, only final year undergraduates, submitted their unique solutions to the real business cases.

Then after a thorough assessment, top 30 teams were forwarded to the semi-finale, and top 6 teams to the final round. The other 3 teams among the top 6 finalists were: ‘Team Moho’ and team ‘Fan Club’ from IBA-Dhaka University and ‘Team Sabertooths’ from East West University.