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10 Minute School, Shajgoj to get $2m seed fund

Staff Correspondent
26 Jan 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 26 Jan 2022 00:04:00
10 Minute School, Shajgoj to get $2m seed fund

Surge – Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator programme – has selected two Bangladesh startups 10 Minute School and Shajgoj as recipients for up to $2 million in seed funding each.

These two organisations are among the 20 early-stage startups picked by Sequoia, which has secured a total funding of $60 million from Surge and its co-investors. On January 27, when Surge 06 goes live, the companies’ founders will go through a 16-week virtual programme.

As part of the initiative, the selected start-ups will participate in several company-building workshops, global immersion trips and receive support from a network of successful investors and co-founders.

10 Minute School aims to provide affordable and accessible education to K-12 school and college students, university admission test candidates, job searchers, and others who are seeking specialised skills training.

Meanwhile, Shajgoj is a women-focused ecommerce firm that carries authentic products at reasonable prices from well-known brands and local distributors through their physical stores and online platforms.

Speaking to The Business Post, CEO and Co-founder of Shajgoj Ltd Nazmul Sheikh said, “Our revenue has doubled this quarter compared to the same period last year. Shajgoj boasts 70 per cent returning customers with exceptional customer experience.

“The platform is offering curated and authentic products from 400+ local and international brands with flat delivery charge across the country.”

He mentioned that Shajgoj will use the seed money to acquire more customers, open more outlets and offer more international brands on its
platform.

Aside from Bangladesh, the new batch includes startups from Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan – a first for the programme. Shortlisted companies in the programme belong to sectors such as agtech, edtech, fintech, direct-to-consumer (D2C), and ecommerce. It also includes multiple software startups that are focused on cyber security, customer engagement, and talent development, among others.

Some of the key names participating in the programme as speakers and mentors are Carousell co-founder Siu Rui Quek, Tokopedia co-founder William Tanuwijaya, One Championship founder Chatri Sityodtong, Zilingo co-founder Ankiti Bose, and Sequoia Capital managing partner Doug Leone.

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