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A weeklong roadshow aimed at promoting investment in Bangladesh was held in the USA with Startup Bangladesh Limited unveiling greater opportunities in the startups and technology sector of Bangladesh in Silicon Valley, USA.

On the event’s final day, local and international delegates joined the “US- Bangladesh Tech Investment Summit” to discuss investment opportunities in the startups and technology sector of Bangladesh, the untapped investment goldmine of Asia.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has organised the roadshow titled “The Rise of Bengal Tiger: Potentials of Trade and Investment in Bangladesh” in the cities of New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

It was held to promote Bangladesh’s economy, investment opportunities, and the capital market, read a press release.

The final day of the programme was held on 2 August in the Hyatt Regency at Santa Clara of California.

In this event, Salman Fazlur Rahman MP, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister of Bangladesh; Lisa M Gillmor, mayor of the Santa Clara city; and Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, chairman of BSEC; were present.

A panel discussion was also held with prominent guests of Silicon Valley on the potentials of trade and investment in Bangladesh.

Shameem Ahsan, president of Venture Capital and Private Equity Association of Bangladesh, moderated the programme.

Tina Jabeen, in her keynote speech, exemplified the successful stories of homegrown startups, how they are already attracting international investors validating that Bangladesh is ready to be the next breeding ground of unicorn in Asia.

In her speech, Santa Clara City Mayor Lisa Gillmor stressed building up a stronger partnership for the development of the business sector.

Salman Fazlur Rahman urged non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) and expatriates to invest in the opportunities presented by the nation.

Source: tbsnews

সিলিকন ভ্যালিভিত্তিক এডটেক বিনিয়োগ বিশেষজ্ঞ লার্ন ক্যাপিটালের সিড ফান্ড লার্নস্টার্ট ও প্রাথমিক পর্যায়ের ভেঞ্চার ক্যাপিটাল ফার্ম অ্যাংকরলেস বাংলাদেশ যৌথভাবে এ বিনিয়োগ করছে।

Startup accelerators and incubators are great opportunities for new businesses to grow and scale their operations quickly. These programs are pivotal for the startups who participate in them, as they often provide access to exclusive business resources and funding opportunities.

However, they can also be highly competitive—acceptance to an accelerator program relies on creating a compelling pitch and proving your startup’s potential right out of the gate.

If you’re thinking of applying to a startup accelerator or incubator, consider this advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council.

Young Entrepreneur Council members offer their best advice to entrepreneurs applying to startup accelerators.

1. Make Your Idea Easy To Understand

When you’re working on something, you’re in it every day and you understand it really well. It’s a different art to take a new idea and share it with someone who is completely new to it. So many startups fail at conveying what it is they are actually doing. Having really concise messaging around what it is that you do and illustrating that to people in an elegant fashion is the most important tip. – Cody Candee, Bounce

2. Focus On Crafting Your Pitch

It’s all about the pitch. Most tech startup people are so in the trenches of their product that they forget how to talk high level about who the tech is for. Remember to not go too granular about the tech specs and instead tell a story. That story should be about your ideal customer. Discuss their pains and how your tech will solve all their problems. It’s important to remember when you tell your story that you portray the customer as the hero, not you. In the customer’s story, you are the guide that gave the hero the tools they needed to conquer the unconquerable. This positioning will also help when marketing to your future ideal customers. – John Murphy, eBike Generation

3. Be Overprepared With Your Numbers

You can focus on a great pitch, but don’t forget about the importance of presenting the right numbers. Go over your story and see which statistics would stand out in your presentation. This gives density to the presentation of your business and lets them know what they can do to accelerate your progress. Experts would be able to gauge the areas you need to improve on and help you patch things up if you know your numbers. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS

4. Don’t Be Married To Your Ideas

As someone who is currently in a social innovation accelerator, I know firsthand just how valuable your experience in the program can be for you personally and for the growth of your organization. The advice I wish I had received before beginning the program is to not be married to your ideas. When I first began the program, we entered with a very specific proposed model, which was very quickly tossed to the side in favor of a completely new idea. Why? Because we listened to our mentors and found new issue areas only we were equipped to solve. The network is truly the most valuable part of the accelerator. If you take the time to connect with the mentors, past participants, even the current group, you will be presented with opportunities that weren’t ever on your radar. – Ashley Sharp, Dwell with Dignity

5. Identify Your Value Proposition

Do you have a clear, clean and succinct value proposition? You’ll need one before you can capture the attention of any incubator. A lot of early-stage entrepreneurs have an idea of the value their company can deliver, but they struggle to articulate it in an easy-to-understand way. Not only does that make it hard to pitch the company to prospective customers and incubators, but it also stymies your efforts to grow in general. Without the guidance of a clear value proposition, you run the risk of taking unnecessary detours and chasing extraneous products or services. A clear value proposition keeps you focused on the parts of your startup that matter most—and it also shows incubators you mean business. They’ll be more likely to see what makes you worth their investment. – Miles Jennings, Recruiter.com

6. Find A Mentor

One tip I always give to people applying for an accelerator program is to find a mentor. You’re more likely to succeed in the program if you’re open to the advice of the experts running the program. This can be difficult, especially if they suggest you pivot your startup or if they suggest making any dramatic changes. However, if you show that you’re open to listening, they will be more willing to help you. You need someone with the knowledge and hands-on experience to make sure your business idea becomes a successful reality. – Shu Saito, Fact Retriever

7. Think Beyond The Program’s Financial Resources

When doing your research on an accelerator or incubator, make sure that they don’t just have financial resources to help you; they should also have networking relationships and access to tools that are relevant to your specific area. For example, drone tech and AI need specialized tools. The location where you’re looking for help also matters. Specialized incubators can be clustered around specific regions. It may be worthwhile to even consider moving to access better technology and expertise to grow your business. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

8. Follow Them On Social Media

I suggest following accelerators and incubators on social media. Keep an eye open for events conducted by them and participate in webinars and networking events. By doing this, you get a feel for what matters to these organizations and you’ll get the chance to talk to other startups who have joined the accelerator program. You’ll also learn more about what you need to do or have to qualify for to get assistance from such bodies. And when you speak to people from these organizations, you’ll be able to talk to them with greater familiarity, which builds trust right away. – Blair Williams, MemberPress

9. Ask Questions And Do Your Research

Before applying to a startup accelerator or incubator, be sure to ask questions and do research about what you’re actually looking for. It’s OK to ask recruiters and hiring managers questions to see if their vision aligns with yours so you can run a successful business. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

10. Consider If You’re Ready For It

I’ve been a startup mentor at a few accelerators and what I found is that most entrepreneurs are just not ready to commit, to put everything on the line, and their commitment is closer to that of a hobby. Hobbyists spend time and energy but never benefit because they lack the commitment to go all in on their idea. Make sure you are ready; sometimes it’s better to wait until you can commit rather than doing it part time. What is going all in? Hire experts to weigh in on your marketing and business plan and accountants to assess the tax burden and also implement a scaling plan for not just a few months, but for years. Take your time in determining your goals and organizing yourself. – Matthew Capala, Alphametic

Bangladeshi medicine delivery startup Arogga has secured USD 200K seed funding from new angel investors, and follow-on investment from Dubai-based Falcon Network.

Zohaib Patel, a Managing Partner at Falcon Network, said, “Falcon Network is delighted to continue its commitment to Arogga in this round. We believe this latest funding round will help Arogga’s strong management team to build on the company’s impressive growth and cement its market leadership position in the pharmacy logistics space. Bangladesh is on the cusp of a new wave of technology-driven growth, and we are very proud to be early backers of several talented entrepreneurs in the country.”

Rosina Mazumder, Co-Founder and CEO of Arogga, said, “Since launching in December 2020, we have seen a 60% average month-on-month growth, proving there is significant demand. Arogga offers genuine medicine directly from the manufacturers, conveniently delivered to your door.”

Arogga won the Tech in Asia Pitch Competition in March, attracting investment from Singapore-based angel investors. Judges Gavin Teo, General Partner at Altara Ventures; Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund; and Shuyin Tang, Partner at Patamar Capital were impressed with CEO Rosina’s pitch, crowning them the winner against five other startups.

Having raised a quarter of a million dollars to date, Arogga plans to use these funds to significantly scale by investing in more tech talent and operational expansion.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/toggle/news/bangladeshi-startup-arogga-raises-200k-2098617

Congratulations to Shuttle, a Bangladesh-based mass-transit startup on raising US$750,000 in its seed round led by Accelerating Asia. The new round brings the company’s total funding to date to US$1 million.

To read more about this announcement please visit- https://buff.ly/3wSCFEp

Tina Jabeen, the founding Managing Director and CEO of Bangladesh Government’s first of its kind Venture Capital platform Startup Bangladesh Limited, is a champion for the cause of startups in Bangladesh. She embodies strength, determination, patriotism and compassion that has made her a well-loved personality and a gallant mentor for the hopeful young entrepreneurs in the growing startup industry of Bangladesh. In an exclusive interview with Rehnuma Karim of Colors, Tina talks about what made her decide to work for the project and shares her vision of a transformative Bangladesh.

Forthcoming and down-to-earth, Tina Jabeen feels she is blessed to be able to lead the Startup Bangladesh Limited and having the opportunity to work with young dreamers who are shaping the country’s future through innovative and creative solutions. Her primary concern is to build an ecosystem for startups in the country and within a short span of time since 2016 she has been playing a pivotal role in building a startup ecosystem. She had a successful career in the USA and held senior level positions in globally reputed companies including a senior director for PwC USA and director of finance and Tax for Horsley Bridge Partners and senior positions in prestigious global firms in the Silicon Valley. But it was her unwavering sense of responsibility and love towards her motherland that has brought her back and take up the challenge and devote her time for the cause of startups in Bangladesh.

From a California Girl to Dhaka’s Youth Icon

Tina has been a California girl in most of her academic and professional career. She eventually did her major in Accounting from Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley and got her CPA license under the tenure of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to join Horsley Bridge Partners, a global premier fund-of-fund where she served as Director of Finance and Tax. As a Bangladeshi in heart and soul, she decided bid bye to USA at the prime of her career and return to her roots to focus on spearheading initiatives related to women and youth empowerment.

She takes huge pride in being a Bangladeshi.  The War of Independence made a profound impact in her life — at the age of only 6, she saw the carnage of the war up close and personal. She feels forever indebted to those who fought for the independence of Bangladesh. Her physician parents treated wounded Muktijodhas in the middle of the night and the liberated victims of the Concentration Camps. These powerful memories intertwined with her sense of responsibility inspired her to contribute her best for the country. While, in USA, she was actively involved in philanthropic and cultural initiatives focused on promoting Bangladesh such as raising funds for when there is crisis, specially abled children, roundtable discussions highlighting Bangladesh economic success and investment opportunities . She knew that she can do more by being on ground. In December 2016, State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, appointed her as the Investment Advisor to lead Startup Bangladesh – a campaign to develop and foster the startup ecosystem envisioned by the Architect of Digital Bangladesh and ICT National Advisor to the Prime Minister Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Under Startup Bangladesh campaign Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (iDEA) project — a grant platform took shape. She spearheaded the project to craft the initial operational and investment guidelines for iDEA. Under the deft stewardship of Palak, her team comprising of senior officials from ICT Division, PwC USA and key stakeholders of the ecosystem delivered the “Guidelines for Venture Capital Fund under the iDEA Project” in 2017.  She recalls that Palak recruited her as an expat believing in her abilities. He is truly a visionary leader being incredibly open to appoint the right people who can timely execute projects adhering to superior quality. She adds this makes the ICT ministry a dynamic and one of the best performing ministries of the government.

She grew up with the dream of becoming a physician just like her parents. After completing the first professional exam in Rajshahi Medical College, she realized that is not her cup of tea. She eventually did her in Accounting from Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley and got her CPA license under the tenure of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Since childhood she has been a purpose driven person and always set  next 5 years milestones targeting of her life. She thrives on analyzing and solving complex problems and setting benchmarks. Her dedication to deliver the best and excellent interpersonal and management skills landed her with some of the top clients in KPMG and PwC.

Her Role in the ICT Division

With her appointed as the founding Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Startup Bangladesh Limited, she feels that the government recognizes the opportunity to continue promoting talent and innovation within key sectors that advance Bangladesh’s position in the new global economy.

Formed in March 2020, Startup Bangladesh Ltd., a Company which is a natural progression of iDEA grant platform, makes equity investments in startups. She is a perfect example of the government’s focus on “brain gain” and promoting the cause of women leadership. As the person in charge of Startup Bangladesh platform, she plans to take on projects which are aligned with National Perspective Plan. Some of the initiatives she would focus on in the short term are to establish the National Startup Policy and Act,  promote  Bangladeshi startups to global investment platforms and  real result driven partnerships with foreign, local academia, developmental agencies, corporations, accelerators to promote “Made in Bangladesh” campaign in respective areas.

Startup Bangladesh Limited makes equity funding of $120,000 to $600,000 to seed thru growth stage startups. The company projects to invest $65 million over the next 5 years. To celebrate  the birth centennial of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh, Startup Bangladesh launched  “Shotoborshe Shoto Asha” to invest  BDT 100 crore in 50 Startups in 2021. The first series of investments to 7 startups have already been made in March 2021 and more are expected as the year progresses.

When asked how she thinks ICT division can play a role to prepare Bangladesh for the fourth  Industrial revolution she says , “We need to ensure infrastructure, digital literacy, affordable bandwidth and financial inclusion so that we can build the human resources and export market to face the challenges successfully.”

As more than half of our population is female, she feels true development cannot happen without bringing the women to embrace technology. She informs that ICT ministry has taken a number of impact initiatives for a digital revolution in the country.   There is an initiative to train thousands of women and girls in basic IT knowledge so they can be IT freelancers, ecommerce entrepreneurs, telemed workers, BPO providers. Through thousands of Sheikh Russel Digital Labs, thirty-five thousand girls all over the country will be introduced to IT and computer related knowledge base. Programming and coding will become part of the national curriculum for primary schoolers.  Through Learning and Earning Initiative,ICT ministry will empower specially abled individual to become financially independent as they can work as software coders and programmers.  Through these visionary initiatives by ICT ministry, she hopes the dream of Digital Bangladesh will be materialized.

Challenges and Opportunities for Startups in Bangladesh

While talking about opportunities for Startups in Bangladesh, she showed her enthusiasm and optimism for a bright future ahead for the Startup industry here that are reflected through Sheba.xyz, Pathao, ShopUp, Shohoj, Loops, Gaze, Truck Lagbe, Dhaka Cast  and the list goes on.   Bangladesh has the 8^th largest population in the world. It is one of the youngest countries where there is language and cultural homogeneity. The middles class is growing at 10% annually and should account for 35 million people by 2025.  Over 100 million people have internet connectivity with 94 million mobile internet connections. Supplementing the

population size and density and the high levels of internet and mobile penetration are at least three other strong reasons why the startup ecosystem is poised for growth in Bangladesh. And according to her, already the momentum is growing as many of the local startups are attracting foreign investors who are ready to invest in Bangladesh.

More than $338 million from international investors has poured into the country in the past 6 years and the trend is upward and encouraging. Being the country’s pioneering venture capital fund- Startup Bangladesh Limited also has an initial allocated capital of $65 million for investment. This fund will provide investment in equity, convertible debt and grants in pre-seed, seed money to locally registered startups and impact enterprises. With this stage being set to support the entrepreneurs, when asked to identify the key reasons behind foreign investors being interested on Bangladesh, Tina commented that investors  look into the commercial viability and scalability of the  product or the service. Foreign investors also consider if the model can be replicated globally so that it can bring disproportionate ROI.  In venture capital risk is high which is mitigated by disproportionate amount of return from a few investment from each vintage. Of course, the overriding factor above all is the “management team”. We all know without skillful execution even the most brilliant idea is just an “idea”. In that aspect, Bangladesh’s English speaking, tech-savvy and “hungry to do something new”  young population can be the driving force to take Bangladesh to the next frontier.  She says, “it’s not easy to pitch to a Silicon Valley VC  and tell them Believe in me!” But some of our flag bearing   like Chaldal did exactly that and secured foreign funding.  With pride, while sharing some of the unique success stories of Bangladeshi Startups, she shares, “These startups are not only pitching their business to the investors. They are actually pitching for Bangladesh to the rest of the world with dedication, confidence and pride.” She commends the local startups, but reflects on the challenges by saying, “While the startups in Silicon Valley can pitch seemingly the weirdest business plan to a VC because the place live and breathe startups – the culture is to think out of the box – in Bangladesh that is not the case—a Bangladeshi young entrepreneur on the other hand must work extra hard to break the barriers of stereotypes as we still have a very nascent ecosystem.”

To answer the question on whether Startups can be initiated by everyone. Tina said, “Startup is not for everyone! There is a difference between being a startup and selling products in a ecommerce platform.  A startup comes up with an innovative solution to a problem which can be scalable, commercially viable, agile and transformational. Airbnb is a perfect example which solved the age old problem of “commercial lodging: by using an innovative way using technology and available to millions of consumers all over the world. You must be ready to sacrifice, take risks, accept failures and give your blood, sweat and tears build your dream and no matter not to give up.”

She mentioned that there is lack of women founders in the startup ecosystem. Globally approximately 8% of the VC industry has women partners. Women founders in Bangladesh as well as in other countries needs to be coached, mentored and trained so that they can gather the business and technical acumen for running their businesses.  She is currently a member in the Women Empowerment Recovery Fund initiative hosted by UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) representing Bangladesh.

Practicing Mindfulness

Tina undoubtedly falls among those high-performance leaders who design their lives with mindfulness and discipline. She lives by the rule of “prioritizing”, recalibrates priorities as needed at work and personal matters and tries to maintain a delicate balance.  She is very much focused about work-life balance: “When one strives for excellence in whatever one does, and there is often imbalance. We need to remember is to take a pause and realign ourselves”. She allocates time for workouts, swimming, and reading and to enjoy and admire nature.

She is an early riser which helps her to wrap up the international calls before breakfast. She consciously avoids checking her phone when she wakes up in the morning. It is a disease that plagues many amongst us.  She plans the day listening to chirping of the birds and PBS news hour. She is extremely mindful of what she eats, reads and spends her time on. Tagore, Neruda and Michelangelo are her three love.  Her morning ritual starts with a glass of Bitter Gourd Juice, Tulsi and Basil Leaves and a spoon of Turmeric. She commits to practice kindness and gratitude and to better manage her frustrations. Sometimes, she admits, failing terribly or fail a little, but every day she mindfully works to become a better person. Her mindfulness spills over to her work, as she consciously commits to give her best in everything she does. Just like a true leader, she accepts her team’s failure as her own responsibility. Although, she does not hesitate to be direct with team members in communicating the failures, learnings from the failures and put in guards and rails to avoid future mistakes.  When she retires for the day— she takes an inventory – what did she accomplished, was she kind and how did she serve others.

Her Inspiration

Tina draws her inspiration from Sir Fazle Hasan Abed for his effort to elevate millions of people all over the world out of poverty. Her maternal grandmother Muhiba Khatun and mother Dr. Najma Khatun played a pivotal role in shaping her philosophical and ethical views. As a graduate from Lady Brabourne College, her grandmother was a century ahead of her time. She was first introduced to astronomy and Renaissance arts through her nani’s library.

Her Philosophy of Life

Purpose. Responsibility. Reflection.  These are the three core values that act as her driving force. Talking about ‘purpose’, she says, “As a human being we all should have a purpose. When I am in Bangladesh, my purpose is to develop and foster the startup ecosystem here and in that regards, I believe, I was given this platform to transform millions of lives and I must give my best to achieve that.”

She believes that we all have our ‘responsibility’ to make this world a better place and each and every one of us can do it in our own way—small or big. She says, “For example, when you are a woman leader, you inspire the aspiring women around you.”  And finally, she says, “To err is human. At the end of the day, I reflect on things that did not go the way I intended to. It may be due to mine or someone else mistake. Instead of harping on it, I try to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.” One mantra she follows is, “be excellent in whatever you do. Let Excellence be your brand.”

Source: https://www.colorsmagazine.net/driving-change/?fbclid=IwAR1k7ANR4x1PePOTty7SeJRVOczj6L64Lx1nM7fk1qOT_vMTXGZzFfBFgvo

Three Bangladeshi researchers have been included in the sixth edition of Asian Scientist 100 list, which celebrates the success of the region’s “best and brightest, highlighting their achievements across a range of scientific disciplines”.

They are Dr Salma Sultana, Dr Firdausi Qadri, and Prof Samia Subrina.

To be recognized on the list published by Asian Scientist, an English language science and technology magazine published in Singapore, “the honouree must have received a national or international prize in the preceding year for his or her research”, according to its website.

Alternatively, the researcher must have provided leadership in academia or industry, or made a significant scientific discovery to secure a place on the prestigious list.

As stated on the magazine’s website, Salma Sultana, founder of Model Livestock Advancement Foundation, was awarded the 2020 Norman E Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application by the World Food Prize Foundation for her work with small-scale farmers in Bangladesh, and her efforts involving veterinary outreach, treatment and education in particular.

Meanwhile, Firdausi Qadri, emeritus scientist at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b), is a laureate of the 2020 L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Award for her advocacy of early diagnoses and global vaccination as well as her work on understanding and preventing infectious diseases affecting children in developing countries.

On the other hand, Samia Subrina, professor of electrical and electronic engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), is a recipient of the 2020 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for her research on the properties and uses of nanomaterials.

With these latest inclusions, the total number of Bangladeshis getting featured in this list since 2016 now stands at six.

Hasibun Naher and Tamal Lata Aditya were included in the fifth edition of the Asian Scientist 100 list in 2019.

Naher, a faculty at the Brac University, received the 2018 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for her research paper on non-linear partial differential equations, which has applications in tsunami simulations.

Whereas, Lata Aditya of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) received the 2018 Senadhira Rice Research Award for her contribution to rice genetics in Bangladesh.

Another Bangladeshi Tanzima Hashemi was featured in the list for 2018. Hashemi was awarded the 2017 Elsevuer Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for her work in developing computational approaches to privacy protection.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/04/27/3-bangladeshi-researchers-make-it-to-asian-scientist-100-list?fbclid=IwAR0kwZvLTcr1O5pC7rLJG414M9ss0bHtv2vt5qi1-VQg0PkqihsCAvQuBr8