The journey of Green Tiger

Not every Bangladeshi youngster dreams to be on an electric bike as it does not offer you some glamorous and speedy image of a bike or honda. Yet it has something unique that even surpasses the glamour sometimes. It has comfort, and a sustainable approach towards the environment.

Electric bicycles are taking the world by storm, and Southeast Asia, with its fast-growing cities and environmental worries, is a perfect fit. This article explores the exciting world of e-bikes in Southeast Asia, looking at how popular they're getting, what people are looking for in them, government rules, new technology, and what the future holds. The market for e-bikes in Southeast Asia is expected to jump from US$ 56 billion in 2023 to US$ 118 billion by 2032, growing almost 10 per cent every year. While this article focuses on Southeast Asia, it's worth noting that Bangladesh could also benefit from this e-bike boom.

Green tiger is a significant e-bike selling platform in Bangladesh. It has been a 14-year long journey for the Green Tiger and they seem to thrive more with the passing time. This group of entrepreneurs not only wishes to expand their business but also aims to align with national development by contributing their parts to green vehicles.

The journey started with Mizanur Rahman Rashed, who had taken himself to the edge of exploring China and other countries to generate ideas related to the EV industry. He went to various EV factories, trade shows, conferences, workshops, industries and also took part in multiple training programmes in China over the years. Previously the battery technology of EV depended solely on lead-acid batteries but due to his craving for developing something more sustainable, Mizanur managed to introduce Lithium batteries so that it could leave a more eco-friendliness in the environment. One day he wants to introduce e-bikes properly made in Bangladesh and establish a Lithium cell manufacturing plant.

This Green Tiger has built up the first EV company in the country which takes it to the next level in the constantly evolving green transportation. Rashed's father had a bi-cycle business. And that is how it all started. With the two wheels of bi-cycle, the dream pursued e-bikes, a new touch of technology in the context of our country.The Green Tigers also started with selling bi-cycles and after the start, they grew interest in electric two-wheelers.

The inspiration comes from a noble cause as Mizanur shares with us, "We are not a fuel dependent country. We need to import fuels like petrol, octane etc. from other countries. And that is why vehicles as e-bikes have to be more practised. The electric bike we are importing and selling is only for daily commuting for a rather smaller distance than other bikes. But the diverse radar of EV also includes sports e-bike with a heavier force and structure. But we are not bringing those yet for sale as they are high in price and the affordability of the customers as well as comfort is our main priority. But we also acknowledge that the sports e-bike can be a big boost for the youth consumers and maybe in future, we would be able to bring that aspect out but only after it will be cost-effective for them."

But due to the heavy traffic jam of the mega city, EVs are not very feasible for Dhaka roads. That is also a big reason for Green Tigers to have their consumer base mostly in the northern part of Bangladesh, though they operate the business from Dhaka. The founder feels proud to say about their responsible business, "As you already know that Rajshahi has been declared as the green city and Green Tigers surely will do their part of work there."

The dreamer of Green Tiger states the present situation regarding e-bikes in Bangladesh, "E-bikes do not need as much servicing as engine bikes. They are more comfortable and affordable, and especially more sustainable. I myself use an e-bike for daily commuting. I would say the popularity for e-bikes is on the rise but as we did not have any government policy before, it had to stay back on some roads. But now the scene for e-bikes has changed in Bangladesh. Now we can aim for having a minimum 30 per cent of newly registered vehicles be EV by the year of 2030 as per the government policy and in future we will even see a rise of e-bikes in the capital."

No journey is smooth in the start. And entrepreneurs always have this big struggle and pile of challenges before them when they start any initiative. Same is the case for Green Tiger, "In the start, we faced some big challenges regarding servicing and supplying. We tend to serve the customers even after selling an e-bike as people are not very aware of its functionality and requirements yet. Till date we have trained 100 certified service agents across the country for providing service to the consumers who buy and use our products. Now the servicing part is very smooth for us. And our supply chain mainly depends on China and sometimes the import was not always very convenient. That is also a reason for us to think of self-dependent models in future. I believe, if we take necessary measurements, 80-90 per cent of the components can be made in Bangladesh.

Educating the customers about the product has been the most significant challenge in this journey as not many people are aware of the structure and service of e-bikes. Some even call it a 'toy bike', as it does not have a heavy body. But with time, the challenges are declining and we are marching forward smoother than before. We never had any problem with having problems, because we always have been able to thrive more after bringing up the solutions and that is how our experiences increased over time. Now we have learnt step by step how to face and overcome the challenges."

Now the organogram of Green Tiger has four young souls including the founder Mizanur Rahman Rashed and his co-founders-- Umme Habiba Tinni, Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Yeasin Md. Esha, Director & Chief Operating Officer (COO). Along with them, there is Salman Rahman, who has the responsibility of an executive director. At present the Green Tiger is looking for bigger investors for funding so that they can go for their dream project of EV, fully made in Bangladesh. With an alignment with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), businesses like Green Tiger can be a contribution from the business sector of Bangladesh.

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