Kawshar Ahmed

Kawshar Ahmed is a Bangladeshi serial entrepreneur, software architect, and business leader best known as the Founder and CEO of JoomShaper and Ollyo. Over the past decade, he has built a portfolio of software products used by businesses, developers, educators, and digital agencies around the world. His work has helped establish Bangladesh as a growing hub for globally competitive software companies.

Early Life and Career

Kawshar Ahmed studied Textile Engineering but developed a strong interest in software development while still at university. During his student years, he began building desktop applications before moving into freelance web development. Working with Joomla introduced him to open-source software, and he soon shifted his focus from client services to creating digital products that could reach customers worldwide. This decision laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey.

Founding JoomShaper

In 2010, Kawshar Ahmed founded JoomShaper, initially as a Joomla template business. The company quickly expanded into premium extensions and developer tools, becoming one of the best-known names in the Joomla ecosystem.

JoomShaper's flagship products include SP Page Builder, one of the most widely used drag-and-drop website builders for Joomla, and Helix Ultimate, a modern Joomla template framework adopted by thousands of developers. The company also created products such as SP Simple Portfolio, SP Easy Image Gallery, SP Booking, and SP LMS, giving Joomla users a complete toolkit for building professional websites. These products helped JoomShaper earn a global customer base and established the company as a leading Joomla software developer.

Building Ollyo

As the business expanded beyond Joomla, Ahmed launched Ollyo, a software company focused on WordPress, SaaS, AI, and cloud-based products. Under his leadership, Ollyo has grown into an international software company serving customers across multiple industries.

Its best-known products include Tutor LMS, one of the leading learning management system plugins for WordPress; Droip (now https://kirki.com/), a visual no-code website builder for WordPress; and IcoFont, an extensive icon library used by designers and developers worldwide. Through Ollyo, Ahmed has continued to invest in products that simplify website creation, online education, and digital business management.

Product Philosophy

Rather than focusing on custom development services, Ahmed has consistently prioritized scalable software products. His companies build tools that enable businesses, educators, freelancers, and agencies to launch websites, create online courses, and manage digital projects with less technical complexity.

This product-first mindset has allowed his teams to compete internationally while operating from Bangladesh. Today, many of his products are used by customers in more than 100 countries, according to company statements and public profiles.

Leadership and Company Culture

Kawshar Ahmed is known for promoting long-term thinking, product innovation, and continuous learning within his organizations. He has often spoken about building companies that prioritize creativity, ownership, and sustainable growth rather than short-term success.

Ollyo's headquarters has also received attention for its modern workspace, designed to encourage collaboration and innovation. His leadership philosophy emphasizes investing in talented people and creating an environment where teams can build products with global impact.

Public Speaking and Industry Influence

He regularly shares his entrepreneurial journey through interviews, conferences, podcasts, and technology events. His talks focus on software entrepreneurship, product development, open-source communities, remote teams, and building international software businesses from Bangladesh.

Technology publications and media outlets have featured his story as an example of how Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can create globally recognized software companies.

Legacy

Kawshar Ahmed is widely regarded as one of Bangladesh's most successful software entrepreneurs. Through JoomShaper and Ollyo, he has built products that have influenced both the Joomla and WordPress ecosystems while inspiring a new generation of founders to create software for global markets. His journey demonstrates how product-focused innovation, open-source collaboration, and long-term vision can turn a local startup into an internationally recognized technology company.