From Village Workshop to National Innovation Leader: The Inspiring Journey of Md. Al-Helal

by Zakaria Hasan, CIMMYT

Born in the remote village of Hatash Haripur in Kushtia, Bangladesh, Md. Al-Helal's early life was defined by hardship. His father, a daily laborer, and his mother, a homemaker, struggled to make ends meet. Forced to leave school at 13, Al-Helal began working at a small engineering workshop for less than 50 cents a week. What began as survival, however, became the foundation for a remarkable story of resilience and innovation.

In 2014, Al-Helal established Al-Helal Engineering Workshop in Bottoil, Kushtia, initially focusing on automobile repairs. Despite financial challenges, his determination paid off when Grameen Trust's New Entrepreneur Investment Program supported him in 2021, enabling him to purchase advanced machinery.

A turning point came in 2022 when CIMMYT through its mechanization project funded by the US government and the US tax payers encouraged him to begin producing combine harvester spare parts locally. With CIMMYT's comprehensive support from technical designs, quality assurance, and workforce training to business promotion and market linkages, Al-Helal transformed his workshop into a hub of innovation. His team received structured training, while Al-Helal himself sharpened his entrepreneurial and managerial skills through specialized programs and study visits to leading research institutes and companies.

Today, Al-Helal manufactures over 280 high-quality combine harvester spare parts, reducing import dependency and saving foreign exchange for Bangladesh. His enterprise has expanded into groundnut threshers that won second place in 'Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute's national talent hunt' and onion storage blowers. Business growth has been equally striking: AHEW's annual turnover skyrocketed from USD 2000 in 2021 to nearly USD 80,000 in 2025.

Al-Helal's innovations have gained national and international recognition. At the 15th Social Business Day (2025), organized by Yunus Centre and Grameen Group, he proudly showcased his solutions before global participants and Bangladesh's Chief Advisor, Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

From a child laborer in a rural workshop to a national figure in agricultural innovation, Md. Al-Helal's journey is a testament to resilience, vision, and the power of partnerships. His story reflects how strategic institutional support from CIMMYT and Grameen Trust led to transformation of rural entrepreneurship into a driver of national progress.