Way back in 1978, a spirited young man from Ponnani, Kerala accompanied a few friends to the city of hope then called Bombay (Mumbai). It was during a time when there were ships that would sail out of the Bombay harbour to the city of Dubai. He identified a crisis and was determined to find a solution. The young man was K.V Abdul Nazar. The crisis was the limited airline/travel services in then Bombay to Dubai. The solution was a 350-square-foot office in Janjikar Street, Bombay (now Mumbai) that was named Akbar Travels. Forty-six years hence, the same Akbar Travels stands as a giant in the travel and tourism industry, with branches in different parts of the world, including the US, Canada, the UK, Italy, the GCC region, Malaysia and lately ventured into Tanzania and Kenya. Akbar Group expands, exploring markets in Bangladesh, Philippines, and Australia ambitiously. Despite the humble beginning, Mr. KV Abdul Nazar today leads the Akbar Group empire, with an annual turnover of more than 2.4 billion USD which employees over 5000 people globally.
To give you a little glimpse of his incredible journey, we'll need to rewind to the 1970s.
This story is from the January 28, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the January 28, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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