More than USD 750 million in foreign investments has come to the country’s startup sector in the decade.
At present there are about 22,500 startups in the country.
The government provides financial support to startups through the Idea Project of Startup Bangladesh Limited, Bangabandhu Innovation Grant (BIG).
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said this while speaking as the chief guest at the BCC auditorium of ICT Tower in Agargaon while participating in the second phase of Investment Assistance for Startups under the ‘Hundred Years of Hope’ campaign organized by ICT Department Startup Bangladesh Limited on Wednesday.
Bangladesh Computer Council Executive Director Md. Abdul Mannan, Turkey Ambassador to Bangladesh Mostafa Osman Turan, President of Bangladesh Association of Call Centre and Outsourcing Wahid Sharif, and Startup Bangladesh Ltd Managing Director Sami Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
The state minister said the ICT department had taken ‘Hundreds of Years of Hope’ initiative to commemorate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh. The initiative aims to invest Tk 100 crore in 50 startups and create entrepreneurial culture and employment in the country.
As part of this, an investment agreement has been signed to provide capital assistance of Tk 17 crore to 8 startups in the second phase.
Mentioning that the ‘Hundred Years of Hope’ campaign will take Bangladesh forward in the global economy, the state minister said the initiative would create a national entrepreneurial platform in the country and accelerate the implementation of new innovations.
He further said, “As a result, any potential initiative would not be stalled and the financial crisis of implementation of the initiative would be alleviated and new jobs would be created.”
He said, “Specialized labs, Fourth Industrial Revolution Center, Joy Digital Service Center, 300 Schools of Future, Sheikh Hasina Institute of Frontier Technology are being set up in 494 upazilas in 53 universities to tackle the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
He expressed hope that entrepreneurs of the younger generation will build a knowledge-based, economical and innovative Bangladesh in the future.
As an investor, Startup Bangladesh Managing Director Sami Ahmed and CEOs of the respective organizations signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. Those organsations are Hello Task, 10 Minutes School, Eye Farmer, Frontier Nutrition, Loop, Mechanical, Sawtell and Truck. In the first phase, seven startups have been given Tk 17 crore.
