Startup Bangladesh Limited, the flagship venture capital fund of the ICT Division, today announced that it has canceled a Tk 5 crore investment proposal for 10 Minute School, Bangladesh’s largest edtech platform. The decision was shared on Startup Bangladesh’s verified Facebook page and reiterated by State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak on his own verified page. Attack on students: Quota protesters block Khulna-Jashore Highway “Startup Bangladesh Limited has rejected the investment proposal of Tk 5 crore for 10 Minute School,” Palak posted. Quota protests: NSU, BracU, IUB students block major roads in Dhaka This move comes amid the ongoing protests demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs. Ayman Sadiq, co-founder and CEO of 10 Minute School, has publicly supported the protestors’ demands for quota reform. “We demand quota reform. Merit should be the biggest quota,” Sadiq posted on his Facebook on Saturday, using the hashtag #QuotaMovement. Quota reform protests: Students block several points of Dhaka-Barishal Highway

Startup Bangladesh, the flagship venture capital company of the ICT Division, has invested in Bimafy, a digital Insurance platform in Bangladesh. An agreement for a Tk1 crore investment was signed between the organisations in Dhaka. NM Zeaul Alam, chairman of the board of directors of Startup Bangladesh and senior secretary of the ICT Division, was present at this time. Read: Startup Bangladesh to invest Tk5 crore in re-commerce platform SWAP Md Moinul Kabir board member of Startup Bangladesh and secretary, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division; Ranajit Kumar, executive director of Bangladesh Computer Council, and board member of Startup Bangladesh; Managing Director of Startup Bangladesh Sami Ahmed, Head of Portfolio Investment Hasan A Arif and Chairman of Bimafy Arnab Paul and Managing Director of Bimafy Alvi Nizam Nafi were also present. Since 2019, Bimafy has been working on the digitalisation of insurance service facilities to ensure that their customer services in the insurance sector meet the "global standard." Read More: In search of future entrepreneurs: iDEA Project to launch Startup Compass Tuesday Customers can choose and buy health insurance, accident insurance, travel insurance and motor insurance from insurance companies of their choice on the Bimafy app and website. Bimafy also works with multiple companies to provide a variety of corporate solutions.

Startup Bangladesh, the flagship venture capital company of the ICT Division, has decided to invest in SWAP, the first re-commerce platform in Bangladesh to enable the country to "innovate faster." SWAP enables "low-income households to buy, sell and exchange products – increasing economic participation and access to technology" in an emerging market such as Bangladesh. An agreement was signed Wednesday between the organisations in Dhaka for a Tk5 crore investment in the pre-series A round. Read: Bangladesh seeks Portugal's investment, expertise in blue economy, wind power generation Starting in 2020, SWAP has generated more than $43 million in gross merchandise value (GMV), with a current monthly GMV of over $2.5 million, according to a media statement. Startup Bangladesh, the first and only venture capital fund sponsored by the government, started its journey in March 2020 with an allocated capital of Tk500 crore. "Startup Bangladesh aims to support homegrown startups to grow and reach heights that generate higher standards for more foreign investment. The local startup ecosystem is greatly influenced by prospective ventures like SWAP," Sami Ahmed, managing director of Startup Bangladesh, said. "With the right strategy and focus, SWAP will be able to make a remarkable example as a successful and sustainable startup in the ecosystem." Read: UNICEF wants investment in world's first child-focused climate risk financing solution "We believe that SWAP provides a solution that the Bangladesh market greatly needs. By building an ecosystem for pre-owned goods, we are providing our country's low and middle-income households access to technology at an affordable price while encouraging the circular economy mandate," SWAP CEO and Co-founder Parvez Hossain said. "By reusing and increasing the lifespan of electronic devices and light vehicles, we can also ease the pressure on import of such goods, easing the stress on our dollar reserve."

Startup Bangladesh Ltd. signified the birth centennial of Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh by investing Tk. 100 crore for 50 startups for the current (2021) year. Marking the occasions, Startup Bangladesh Ltd. at a programme at ICT Division at Agargaon in the capital on Wednesday (March 31, 2021) launched "ShotoBorshe Shoto Asha" to invest Tk. 15 crore for seven startups as part of its first series of investments. Startup Bangladesh Limited is the flagship venture capital fund of the ICT Ministry. Read Bangladeshi startup Dataful joins Startup Istanbul’s portfolio. Under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Startup Bangladesh - the first and only venture capital fund sponsored by the Bangladesh government, started its journey in March, 2020 with an allocated capital of Tk. 500 crores. The seven startups that today received Tk. 15 crore ( 1.75 million) as part of first series of the investments are Pathao (ride-sharing/logistics), Dhaka Cast (health-tech), Moner Bondhu (mental health and Wellbeing), Chaldal ( e-commerce), Eduhive (education-tech), Sheba.xyz (domestic services and SME) and Intelligent Machines (software services). The event was told that the startups received this fund to scale up their production, improve the quality of goods and services and develop the supply chain & marketing strategies. Also read: There's a woman behind many successful startups in Bangladesh Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, State Minister of the ICT Division, was present as chief guest at the event. Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury MP, Deputy Minister of Education, and Principal Coordinator, SDG Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office Zuena Aziz were special guests. N M Zeaul Alam PAA, Senior Secretary, ICT Division and Chairman, board of directors of Startup Bangladesh Ltd., was the guest of honour. Zunaid Ahmed Palak officially launched the "ShotoBorshe Shoto Asha” and declared the investment of this venture capital fund. Also read: The stress of starting a startup: 'Funding remains the biggest challenge' Through this initiative, he said, the government created a national entrepreneurship platform to support the startup ecosystem. “Startups could play a crucial role in addressing the market needs, which will serve as the foundation for far-reaching consequences in the GDP’s overall growth. The tech-solutions provided by startups could support the nation’s achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” said Palak. Senior Secretary, ICT Division and Chairman, board of directors of Startup Bangladesh Ltd., N M Zeaul Alam PAA, commented that the organization would develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem and connect entrepreneurs and startups to foster collaboration with all the stakeholders. Also read: Survey underway to identify challenges for startups Speaking as a guest speaker, Ki-Hak Sung, Chairman, and CEO at Youngone Corp, said, “I have been associated with Bangladesh for the past 36 years and am excited to be in this growth journey ahead”. The company is eyeing to invest USD 1 Billion over the next few years in Bangladesh. In his address, Chris Burry, the Co CEO of US Market Access Inc., wished for Startup Bangladesh Limited all the success in the coming days. Mustafa Usman Turan, Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh, said his country is keen to develop partnerships in the information technology (IT) and e-commerce sectors of Bangladesh. Tina F. Jabeen, Managing Director & CEO, Startup Bangladesh Ltd, said, “Among all frontier markets, Bangladesh holds the most promising opportunity for venture capital and private equity investments. Read Japan to make more investment in Bangladesh after end of pandemic: Naoki

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many changes to people’s normal lives with a growing dependence on virtual platforms as physical distancing is advised by health experts to limit transmission of the virus.