SRINAGAR: Dropped out from school twice, Abdul Hamid Bhat, a leading businessman of capital Srinagar has been selected to be a Bartos fellow at the USA.
Bhat said, “First time, a school dropout is going on a fellowship. It’s a proud moment. I am excited about the conference. Something has to be said and something has to be learned.”
Bhat is CEO and managing director of the Rahim Group of companies dealing with car servicing and generators. Apart from it, he will be attending a conference at Harward Business School and Harward Kennedy School of the US government.
Bhat’s focus in the conference would be on entrepreneurship in a conflict zone. With the concept called business for society, Bhat wants people to be aware of social entrepreneurship.
“We don’t have any NGO. We are introducing the concept of social entrepreneurship in Kashmir. It has become a culture that every person here wants to do social work with the help of NGOs. We are moving away from that and doing some good for the society with our own money,” he said.
Bhat has also been a volunteer in various social works. “A volunteer has to work more on society and in business, you get an opportunity to work for the welfare of society,” he said. One of Bhat’s areas of work is to teach students about entrepreneurship.
His aim is to give exposure to children of Kashmir. “I believe in education. I want Kashmiri students to explore the world broaden their vision and understanding,” he said.