Congrats to the nine Bangladeshi who have made it to the “Forbes 30 under 30 Asia” list for their outstanding work in enterprise technology, social impact, and retail & e-commerce sectors.
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Angel investing 101: Doing it right in Bangladesh
As interest in the Bangladeshi startup ecosystem has grown, so has the responsibility of angel investors and other early stage stakeholders to properly assist founders and startups in preparing for their next stages of growth and funding. At Anchorless Bangladesh, we’ve spent the last 18 months better understanding how to accelerate the ecosystem relative to regional peers. This included a wide sweep with our friends at LightCastle Partners into the amount, type, and sources of funding for startups. Of the roughly US$300 million invested in startups so far, under $25 million came from angels, of which less than a third were from local angels.
In our assessment, the lack of consistent and appropriately structured angel funding is one of the single biggest weaknesses that has limited the development of the ecosystem. In comparison, our regional peers in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam have benefitted from angels playing a critical role in the early development and future funding of startups. Not only does Bangladesh need more angel investors, but we need those who do become angels to invest more effectively and thoughtfully so founders can proceed to raise future rounds of funding abroad to scale their businesses. Why does this matter? Because startups and venture capitals can have a generational impact on the Bangladeshi economy, paving the pathway for our own Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
The role of angels in the funding process
Angel investors give startups capital at very early stages — often even before the company has revenue, traction, or even a minimum viable product (MVP). While there are cases where angels invest in just an idea, especially for second or third-time founders with a track record, this is rare. A traditional startup’s life cycle is shown below:
SDG Impact Accelerator
A snapshot of the amazing #impact startups in #financialinclusion for #Bangladesh and #digitalagriculture for #Uganda cohorts. We are excited to be part of their journey during the Pre-Acceleration program. Check out our posts daily to meet them one by one!
Leaving no micro merchants behind in the digital era in Bangladesh
It is a pleasure to announce that Ms. Tina Jabeen, Managing Director & CEO of Startup Bangladesh Limited has been invited in the Conference “Leaving no micro merchants behind in the digital era in Bangladesh” on 23rd March. This conference starts at 10:00 hrs Bangladesh time.
Ms. Tina Jabeen will be speaking in the panel on the theme of “Digital Innovations for Microenterprises: financial and non-financial services”. This session is from 12:00 noon Bangladesh time.
You can register at the following link to join online:
Startup Bangladesh Limited collaborates with United Nations Development Programme in Bangladesh, Citi, Islamic Development Bank & LightCastle Partners
Startup Bangladesh Limited collaborates with United Nations Development Programme in Bangladesh, Citi, Islamic Development Bank & LightCastle Partners to launch a survey to gather insights that will not only help us to understand the current and future trends but also to develop strategies for strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem inclusive of youth in Bangladesh.
If you are an entrepreneur in Bangladesh under the age of 35, then help us better understand the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurship by taking this survey: tinyurl.com/youth021
Grameenphone – ChooseToChallenge
Tina F. Jabeen- Managing Director & CEO, Startup Bangladesh Ltd. joined as Keynote Speaker along with distinguished Panelists- Cecilie Heuch- EVP and Chief People and Sustainability Officer, Telenor, Syed Tanvir Husain – Chief Human Resources Officer, Grameenphone Ltd, Dr. Tasnim Jara- Doctor, NHS England, and Sabira Mehrin -Founder, Wander Woman to speak at the “lead the change” titled event hosted by Grameenphone. She discussed about the challenges that women face and the gender biases that we need to challenge.
#ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021 #startupbd
Partnership between the EdTech Consortium and Education Ministry is led by Startup Bangladesh Limited
The partnership between the EdTech Consortium and Education Ministry is led by Startup Bangladesh Limited — the first venture capital company funded by ICT Division, The Government of Bangladesh.
We are indebted to Honorable Education Minister Dr. Dipu Moni MP, Honorable ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP and Honorable Deputy Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury MP and Chairman of Startup Bangladesh Limited Board N. M. Zeaul Alam, Senior Secretary, ICT Division and Ministry leadership team for believing in our EdTech startups and trusting them with a project of such stature.
Startup Bangladesh Limited is proud to be part of this great journey with EdTech Startups developing content for Digital Classes for students all over Bangladesh. This is another major step towards the creation of Digital Bangladesh.
The Women Enterprise Recovery
The Women Enterprise Recovery Fund looks to partner with private sector innovators to design and launch digital solutions that support women enterprises economically impacted by COVID-19 and to address their financial and other business requirements.
Eligible Institutions:
Mobile financial service providers
Regulated Financial Institutions (Banks, Insurance, MFIs)
Regulated peer-to-peer lending providers
Smart agriculture equipment providers
Agricultural input suppliers/providers. Read More
iSocial, VoiceBridge announce collaboration on bridging digital divide
Infolady Social Enterprise Limited (iSocial) and VoiceBridge Bangladesh Limited have announced their collaboration for strategic partnership and investment to create entrepreneurs and bridge the digital divide in Bangladesh.
The companies inked the deal at a ceremony, hosted by Startup Bangladesh Limited, in Gulshan-1 area on Tuesday with an aim to facilitate 12 million people in Bangladesh within 2022, according to a press release. Read More
4 ways start-ups can keep raising funds during the COVID pandemic
Quarantine and lockdown have had an economic impact on small businesses and large corporations alike. However, when it comes to the global start-up scene, the carpet has really been pulled from under these companies’ feet.
Given that they rely mainly on equity investments or convertible notes, they have been affected by the fact that in a downturn, these can turn into debt. The earlier stage the company, the bigger the risk. Read More