The country has received foreign investments amounting to over $750 million in the startup sector in a decade, said State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Wednesday.
He made the statement at the BCC auditorium of ICT Tower in Dhaka while participating in the second phase of Investment Assistance for Startups under the "Shotoborshe Shoto Alo" campaign organised by ICT Department’s Startup Bangladesh Limited.
He said the government is providing financial assistance to nearly 22,500 startups in the country through Bangabandhu Innovation Grand (Big), the idea project of Startup Bangladesh Limited.
Palak said "Shotoborshe Shoto Alo", an initiative by the department to commemorate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh, 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 was signed on Wednesday to provide capital assistance of Tk 17 crore to eight startups in the second phase.
As an investor, Sami Ahmed, managing director of Startup Bangladesh Ltd. and CEOs of eight companies, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. The eight startups are- Hello Task, 10 Minutes School, iFarmer, Frontier Nutrition, Loop, Zantrik, Shuttle and Truck Lagbe.
In the first phase, seven startups were given Tk 17 crore.
Palak said the initiative would create a national entrepreneurial platform in the country and accelerate the implementation of new innovations.
Specialised labs in 53 universities, Fourth Industrial Revolution Centres, Joy Digital Service Centres in 494 upazilas, 300 Schools of Future, Sheikh Hasina Institute of Frontier Technology are being set up to cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, he added.
Bangladesh Computer Council Executive Director Dr Md Abdul Mannan, Ambassador of Turkey to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan and Bangladesh Association of Call Centres and Outsourcing President Wahid Sharif spoke at the event among others.
