Startup Bangladesh Ltd, the country’s first venture capital fund by the Bangladesh government, and Visa, the global leader in digital payments, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop an effective and innovative financial inclusion and digital ecosystem in the country.
The MoU was inked at a signing ceremony recently. Sami Ahmed, managing director of Startup Bangladesh Limited, Soumya Basu, country manager of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at Visa, and senior officials from the respective organisations attended the event.
This endeavour would provide an important platform for the startup ecosystem of Bangladesh and contribute to the Government’s Smart Bangladesh initiative, read a press release.
Under this MoU, both parties will collaborate with each other in bringing Visa’s Fintech Fast Track Programme to Bangladesh and engaging growth stage fintechs, and the Visa Ready certification programme to enable fintechs and start-ups to launch innovative payment solutions in the market.
It will also provide technical assistance and access to different workshops by Visa subject matter experts, access to Visa Development Platform APIs and the Visa Developer Sandbox that allows fintechs and start-ups to experiment and create new payment solutions.
This programme with Visa will further explore partnerships and collaboration opportunities for mutually beneficial fintech and start-up initiatives and events in Bangladesh, the release added.
Startup Bangladesh and Visa will further strengthen cooperation through knowledge partnership including research and knowledge sharing in the areas of common interest.
Bangladesh’s mission is to build a "Smart Bangladesh" by 2041, startups will be crucial in identifying and developing solutions that meet the market's needs. Fintech companies will be particularly instrumental in achieving the government's objective of a cashless society.
“By combining the expertise of both organizations, I believe that the partnership between Startup Bangladesh and Visa will make a remarkable impact in building a digital economy,” said State Minister of ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak on the occasion.
