Startup Bangladesh has entered into an MoU with Dhaka Stock Exchange to bring growth stage entrepreneurs to the capital market.
As per the agreement, a dedicated helpdesk will be established to facilitate getting relevant information and answering any queries related to the capital market on investment opportunities and prospects of startup companies. A working group comprising industry experts, startups and other relevant public and private sector experts will also be constituted to identify the technical capabilities and opportunities of startups.
Dhaka Stock Exchange Managing Director Tariq Amin Bhuiyan and Startup Bangladesh Managing Director Sami Ahmed signed the agreement between their respective organizations in the Dhaka Stock Exchange office on Thursday.
ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak was the chief guest on the occasion. DSE Chairman Md. Enayetur Rahman, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission-BSEC Chairman Shibli Rubaiyatul Islam, BSEC Commissioner Sheikh Shamsuddin Ahmed were present on the event.
In the panel discussion held on the challenges and prospects of post-agreement tech start-up companies, the ICT state minister said in his speech that currently 90 percent of the country’s mobile phone demand is being supplied from the country. Last year we earned 10 thousand crore taka by exporting laptops.
Stating that the ICT Division has started working to make the Securities Exchange Commission a world leader with the help of technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “We have already made an assessment, so that we can provide world-class services through speed and transparency by using more technology in BSEC.” For this we will spend 7-10 million dollars. With technical support we will make Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission a world leading SEC. Through this it will be possible to decide to invest from startup Bangladesh. Building a startup eco system in the country will be helpful.
From Silicon Valley to Chile, neighboring countries like India and Singapore have developed startup cultures; As Tel Aviv has become the cyber security capital; we also will be able to surpass all the failure with the startups like Pathao, bKash, Chaldal.com, ShebaXYZ and ShopUp.
He further said that since 2,500 startups were given a grant of taka10 lakhs each from the ICT Division and they turned them into hundred million dollar companies within 5 years, these startups brought foreign investment of $ 50 billion, created 1.5 million jobs. So this time we will invest equity of 500 crore taka from Startup Bangladesh to entrepreneurial organizations.
State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak expressed his optimism that startup companies will become the driving force of digital economy in the future by arranging the startups in four levels namely Seed, Growth, Guided and Targeted.
