Ringing in their 10th anniversary celebrations in style, Mediaplus, a local advertising and event management company, has released an interesting book profiling in detail a long line of successful businessmen and entrepreneurs from the south Indian state of Kerala.
Titled Vijayamudra, the name being a reference to “the hallmark of success” accomplished by Kerala’s Malayalee entrepreneurs over the past five decades, the book delivers 28 such inspiring stories and words of wisdom sprung out of their great experiences across various fields here in Qatar.
Dinesh Udenia, first secretary (PEC) at the Indian embassy in Doha, released the publication at a special function marking the 10th anniversary celebrations of Mediaplus. In his speech, Udenia lauded the “commendable strides” made by the Malayalee community in Qatar and asked them to keep up the good work, enhancing the reputation of their country. “Everyone I have met in the leadership here in Qatar has uniformly thanked us for the support given by the Indian community in the growth and development of Qatar,” he told the audience.
The Malayalee community, Udenia added, has played a very important role in building this reputation.
Amanulla Vadakkangara, CEO of Mediaplus, told Community, “This collection is not about profiling rich people, but profiling people with rich ideas and experiences who can motivate youngsters and drive them towards excellence. These 28 entrepreneurs are such incredible success stories that can guide the community. Vijayamudra therefore is an important publication because it is not simply a celebration of the achievements of a few entrepreneurs but primarily conveys the gist of struggles and hard work in a persuasive manner as to motivate and guide the new generation in new ventures.”
With Mediaplus marking its 10th anniversary, this is our gift to the community, Vadakkangara said. “We have tried to venture out innovative ways of products and services which have been received well by the community. We hope Vijayamudra will also guide the community to achieve new heights and prosperity in their respective fields.”
Mediaplus Chairman Ali Abdulla al-Kaabi, Managing Director Shukkur Kinalur, and Project Manager C K Rahel also spoke on the occasion. Earlier in the event, the chairman, managing director, CEO and the staff of Mediaplus joined a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the company’s the 10th anniversary.
The 28 successful entrepreneurs covered in the publication are:
C K Menon, Aboobacker Madapatt, K Zainul abideen, K Mohammed Easa, Yoonus Salim Vapattu, K P Abdul Hameed, A K Usman, K L Hashim, Dr M P Shafi Haji, N K Musthafa Sahib, K M Varghese, Navas Pattara, Aboobacker T K, Sheela Philippose, Usman Mohammed Kallan, Jenny Antony, T A J Shoukathali, Shukkur Kinalur, E P Abdurahman, Khalid Mihran, Dr Symon Thomas, P M Abdul Salam, Chandramohan Pillai, Jose Philipp, T M Kabeer, Niyamathulla Kottakkal, Riyaz Chavakkad, P M Rasheed.
For instance, Cheril Krishna Menon, popularly known as C K Menon, is hailed among the most popular and revered personalities of the Indian diaspora in Qatar. The chairman and managing director of Behzad Group of Companies is as successful an entrepreneur as a philanthropist. A native of Thrissur in Kerala, Menon headed to Qatar in 1979 in search of a better life.
When he realised that an Indian law degree won’t be of much use in this Gulf state, he earned another law degree from an Arabic university and joined as a supervisor at a Pakistani contracting company engaged in construction of roads at a salary of QR1,500. Once he gained experience in Qatar and fluency in Arabic, Menon moved to a transport company and then to the Behzad Group, which was a debt-ridden company then. The owner sold the company to Menon for QR400,000. Today, the turnover of the company is in the range of QR4-5 million, and if the vessels business is considered, it could even be around QR14 million.
“We are also proud to share that Gulf Business Card Directory, which was published by Mediaplus, has won an award instituted by the department of Commerce and Management Studies, School of Business Studies, University of Calicut, for the most innovative marketing tool,” Vadakkangara said.
Attributing GBCD’s success to team effort, Vadakkangara said, “The directory facilitating the business community to interact among themselves for mutually rewarding enterprises contain business cards of individuals and establishments which can be a ready reference of all the leading business concerns to boost Indo-Gulf and Intra-Gulf businesses. Once its publication began in 2007, we were very particular to add new attractions every year. Now, we have made it a unique product that’s published consecutively for the last 10 years with added attractions. The whole version of the directory is available online and the business cards are available in mobile application for free download.”
The book being released by notable guests at the function.
