Startup Surge: Bangladesh Bank Adds Tk 600 Crore to Venture Capital Fund
Bangladesh Bank has announced an additional allocation of Tk 600 crore to the venture capital fund for startups, bringing the total fund size to Tk 1,500 crore.
The announcement was made by Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Wednesday, October 8, during a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy on Bailey Road, Dhaka.
He said, “Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur shared the update during a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at Tejgaon. The meeting was attended by members of the Advisory Council and various stakeholders, where the governor confirmed that Bangladesh Bank will contribute an additional Tk 600 crore to the startup fund.”
Earlier, Bangladesh Bank and several commercial banks jointly formed a startup venture capital fund amounting to Tk 1,200 crore using profits from their earnings. Under this initiative, a startup can avail up to Tk 8 crore in loans at a 4% interest rate.
However, despite the availability of substantial funds, investment disbursement to the startup sector from this fund has so far remained limited.
