In a first for Bangladeshi firms, Summit Corporation has joined the community of the World Economic Forum as a Forum Member.
The Forum Member community represents outstanding group of firms that count among the world’s top innovators, market shapers, disruptors, niche market leaders and regional champions, according to a Summit press release.
The WEF website itself describes Forum Members as “mid-sized global enterprises that have been selectively sought by the World Economic Forum for their innovative business models, market influence, industry disruption, regional impact, corporate citizenship and visionary leadership.”
Together with the WEF’s Institutional Members, they are said to form a key group of business stakeholders that “engage in public-private cooperation with academics, government and civil society to improve the state of the world.”
Summit Group chairman Muhammed Aziz Khan said Bangladesh and other developing countries require massive investment in infrastructure, as they seek to create jobs and eradicate poverty.
“Summit’s membership will provide an opportunity to understand this need and ways to fulfill this need,” he said.
Founded in 1971 as the European Management Forum by German economist-turned-management guru Klaus Schwab, the WEF is an independent international organization headquartered in Cologny, Switzerland – although its greater claim to fame is the annual summit it organizes in Davos, nestled in the Swiss Alps.
The WEF claims it is committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Summit is the largest independent power producer (IPP) in Bangladesh. Currently its 20 operational power plants in the country with an aggregated installed capacity of 1,941 MW, around a fifth of Bangladesh’s total capacity installed by the private sector.