Rihan Miya, 22, chairman and CEO of Midlaj Group, a conglomerate company, has stolen the limelight as an entrepreneur who excels in exporting plywood abroad from Nepal.
Recently, after exporting plywood products from his company, Midlaj Group, to India, the company has hit the headlines. Businessmen and industrialists from Nepalgunj have congratulated him for exporting his plywood to India. At such a young age, after starting an industry and exporting locally produced goods to India, they say that Rihan will do something great. “What a level of success at such a young age,” they exclaimed.
"For the first time, I exported plywood from my industry to India, and when Indian customers liked it, I received another order. We are currently working to fulfill that order," he says. He exported the goods from the first order and is currently working vigorously on the second order. "No matter how much you produce, we will buy," Indian traders have said, but currently, we do not have the capacity to produce according to their demand. However, we are working to meet their demand in the future," he says
His industry is located at Janaki Rural Municipality 3. He directly and indirectly provides employment to around 40 to 50 people. Previously, he used to distribute imported goods in Nepal, but now he has started exporting
Opening a plywood industry is also an interesting coincidence. "I used to sell imported goods, especially, and now I am in a situation to export," he says. According to him, he used to sell goods from the Indian company Amul previously. In Nepal, there are only three companies involved in the distribution of Amul products, and one of them is his company. While a Vishal Group sells Amul products, another Gourmet Vienna has also started doing it. "The third one is my Midlaj Group." He had been involved in the distribution of imported Amul products for about two years until the government imposed a ban on luxury goods imports. After that, he started a new business to sustain himself. "A bank has started auctioning land, and the work of acquiring that land has begun. It took almost two years to give a final touch," he said. "I started this business by selling some of my assets and taking a loan from the bank." Within two years, he reached the stage of exporting. His ancestral home is in Pokhara, Kaski. When his father, Rahaman Miya, came to Nepalgunj for business purposes, he was born in Nepalgunj. "My house and property are still in Pokhara, and we keep visiting this city from time to time," he said.
There was a grinding poverty, then. My father Rahaman Miya went to Humla in 2034 BS for work. He used to spend three days walking and carrying other people's goods. Later, he opened a small grocery shop in Humla, the business went well for some time. He saved some money from the grocery store, and in 2055 BS, he came down to Nepalgunj. My father got a contract to supply food items to the police and army. During that time, he also started his side business of land plotting and selling, and at the same time, for two terms, he was also the chairman of the Jama Masjid in Nepalgunj. After closing down the contract business of supplying foods, he converted his side business of land plotting and selling into his main business. In the present situation, he is recognized as a prominent social worker and businessman in Nepalgunj," he shared his family story.
As his father was also engaged in business, Rihan also gradually started to get interested in business. Therefore, he started in business from the ninth grade. Initially, he produced fiber screen protectors for mobile phones, and personally launched marketing campaigns, carrying samples in bags and running to markets himself.
After some time, the work was handed over to his brother. He separated in terms of business from his brother and started selling imported goods from Amul. After the government banned the import of luxury items, he started the plywood business. He gradually achieved success and reached the stage of exporting.
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