Sanwal Muneer

“Welcome to Denmark!”

May 26, 2015 - Blog Posts

“Mr. Muneer your flight to Stockholm is about to depart please report to Gate 3 ASAP”

That was the announcement that I heard when I had just landed in Amsterdam for a connecting flight to Stockholm. First I thought it can’t be me because I had just landed but then they repeated the announcement. Looking at the boarding pass I realized that it was me. Rushing from different gates I was finally on board and the plane took off. After some time the plane landed and when I was collecting my luggage I got a text message from my mobile carrier and it read like this:

“Welcome To Denmark!”

What? I am in Denmark? I said it aloud. I had taken the wrong flight! Meanwhile my neighbour calmed me saying “this is Stockholm and you got a wrong text.” Such a relief!

It has been a wonderful journey with SE Forum and this is my first experience to attend any accelerator. The best thing about the Accelerator Program is that they have selected such amazing entrepreneurs from all over the world who keep inspiring me every day. They are always motivated and passionate about tackling new challenges. During the last seven weeks I have learnt a lot from all of them. The thing which fascinates me about SE Forum is their team. I have worked with many people on social issues but I believe the SE Forum team is not only doing their job but they also care about social impact and that’s why they are here. They believe in us and they are always there to help. Who else is lucky enough to get this sort of support?

Meeting Prof. Iqbal Quadir at the Inclusive Business Forum

Meeting Prof. Iqbal Quadir at the Inclusive Business Forum in Solna, Stockholm

For me the highlight of the previous weeks was the session with Bo which helped me a lot in scheduling and managing projects. We are implementing one project in Scotland and the session with Bo helped me to understand different aspects of project management and then executing them in the most efficient way.

At the start of last week we had a financial management session with Maew. She helped us to develop our financial projections and cost estimations from scratch. For me it was very helpful to know where we need to push our sales to sustain for the next years.

Last Wednesday we attended the Inclusive Business Forum somewhere in Sweden, I have already forgotten the name of the place. :-/ But anyways all the speakers were so inspiring. I was really honored to meet Prof. Iqbal Qadir. I have never seen a more humble guy than him even after achieving so much in his life. What struck me in his talk was that Bangladesh is giving aid to Norway because their telecom company is earning much more in Bangladesh than in Norway.

The session on branding with Fiona was really great and engaging.

Going up the rollercoaster ride in Gröna Lund

Going up the rollercoaster in Gröna Lund

And it was really helpful when all of SE Entrepreneurs helped each other with different ideas and feedback. For me developing the brand essence of my company was really a great activity which is; “Powering the Greener Future”. And last but by no means least, on the weekend we went to Gröna Lund. It was great to see Eric on a rollercoaster shouting that he is going to die. 🙂 But he of course didn’t. It was such a great, full of fun and amusing day for all of us.

As we approaching the end of our time here in Stockholm and the Accelerator Program comes to a close, I am looking forward to our Graduation ceremony on June 4th. I hope the connections and friends we have made here will last forever.

Love & smiles,

Sanwal