Nafisur's journey from thinking like a monk to MonkMoney

It was back in 2019 when Nafisur Rahman, a 26-year-old Bangladeshi pursuing his higher studies in Australia, was going through a rough patch. Juggling his studies with three part-time menial jobs, he was dealt a blow when he lost two of those jobs.

Also, he had a flair for the stock market, with $12,000 invested in it. However, despite his rigorous analysis and five years of hands-on experience, his investments were stagnant for months, far from the $22,000-$23,000 return he had anticipated.

Frustration set in, and he contemplated withdrawing all his investments. He even began to doubt himself for the first time, assuming that he was probably not as good in stock-related things as he believed.

Interestingly, even before he could indeed withdraw his money, things took a dramatic turn. All of a sudden, his investments shot up to a staggering $1.4 million. Turned out, his knowledge in stock trading had been spot on all along; all that he lacked was patience.

"That's exactly when this realisation dawned on me that to succeed in stock trading, one has to have patience and think like a monk," Nafisur told The Business Standard in a recent interview.

From this realisation, Nafisur conceived the idea of founding MonkMoney, a business consulting platform aimed at guiding individuals interested in stock market investment.

"The understanding of money and finance is a game very few people understand how to play, and we are right here to extend a helping hand to them," remarked Nafisur.

And Nafisur's unique start-up truly resonated with many, as 32,000 clients have already placed their trust in it and availed its services.

After initially capitalising the venture with $1.4 million, which Nafisur amassed from his personal gains in stock trading, the company's market value now stands at approximately $36 million.

What MonkMoney does is trade stocks on behalf of individuals, utilising its profound understanding of the stock market to manoeuvre through its complexities.

The company's strategy takes into account both local and global market dynamics, exemplified by its two major offerings: the Global Plan and the Bangladesh Plan. By providing these dual-focused strategies, MonkMoney aligns its services with clients' financial objectives.

On its website, MonkMoney outlines a variety of investment plans tailored to each client's specific needs. Each plan specifies different investment amounts, minimum profit margins, holding times, and approximate profits.

Nevertheless, the company also emphasises a note of caution that "these slots are only for demo and educational purposes," and the company "will only advise everyone based on their investing capacity."

Moreover, the company provides consultancy services through public speaking engagements, workshops, and mentorship programmes to empower individuals and investors, ensuring they comprehend the value of money and how to make it work for them.

However, MonkMoney's investment approach for Bangladeshi clients does not include the stock market, as it does not engage in any stock market investments to generate profits for them. Instead, its primary focus is on direct business investments within Bangladesh.

According to Nafisur, they have established strong relationships with over 250 business owners across various sectors in the country, enabling them to identify and seize unique opportunities to generate returns for Bangladeshi clients.

"For example, if we discover that an item is being sold for Tk10 lakh, we might secure a Tk10 lakh investment from a client. Subsequently, we may aim to generate a return of Tk12 lakh or more. Then, we will allocate the majority of the profits to that client," explained Nafisur.

Overall, among MonkMoney's 32,000 customers, around 7,000 have been Bangladeshis. "When it comes to my own countrymen, my aim is to maximise profits and eliminate all financial risks as much as possible."

Nafisur also contributes to his country in other ways. Despite MonkMoney being headquartered in Darwin, Australia, a significant portion of his around 50 employees are Bangladeshis working remotely from home. 

"I always see if there is anyone from my own community or country eligible for the posts first. Right now, most of the web development and administrative roles are held by Bangladeshis," Nafisur shared.

Apart from his Bachelor's degree in commerce, he has pursued studies in mental health in Darwin to counsel people, and he is also a certified nutritionist with a passion for bodybuilding and fitness training.

"With all these academic endeavours, combined with my own life experiences, I aspire to help people and offer them proper guidance," Nafisur said.

And so, he recently published an autobiographical book named "Snow of Sahara" from Worthy Books BD, which took him six years to complete writing.

As a way of giving back to his community, Nafisur also sponsors events that align with his ideologies. One of the most noteworthy sponsorships was for Mr Bangladesh 2024, the country's largest bodybuilding competition organised by Bangladesh Bodybuilding Foundation.

"For this event, I sponsored Tk10 lakh, beating the likes of Walton and Marcel in the bidding," Nafisur proudly claimed.

Among his other projects, Nafisur currently owns a lifestyle-based e-commerce platform in Australia, but his future plans mostly centre around Bangladesh but with a global touch.

"Next in line is setting up an agro project and a mineral water company in Bangladesh," informed Nafisur. 

While he visits Bangladesh every two to three months, will he ever return permanently to the country he left in 2014?

It's still early in Nafisur's career, and there's a possibility he may indeed return in the future. However, for now, he believes it's more effective to work for Bangladesh while residing abroad.

"Because the opportunities I get to explore by staying in Australia are not readily available in Bangladesh," Nafisur concluded.