Domestic and foreign enterprises like bKash, Pathao, Chaldal started from small seeds. They are now big entrepreneurs with new solutions to the emerging problems of the society. Some of them are now signing up as startups instead of working will be the country’s biggest ‘unicorn’ startups or 10,000-crore companies. That’s why you have to stay awake without giving up and stick to it.
The speakers spoke at an event at the Bangladesh Campus of Global Entrepreneurship Network at Daffodil Tower in Sobhan Bagh, Dhaka on Saturday, February 24. The Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Development (DID) Project of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority organized the program titled ‘Cohort Onboarding of Smart Bangladesh Accelerator Program’. The program was organized as part of developing and succeeding businesses from ideation to growth-stage digital startups, with seven more cohorts of 175 entrepreneurs inducted.
DID project Sub-project Director Dr. Md. Mansoor Alam delivered his welcome speech at the event. Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Managing Director (Grade-1) GSM Zafarullah, NDC was present as the chief guest on the occasion.
Managing Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network Bangladesh KM Hasan Ripon presided over the event while the subproject director of the DID project Dr. Md Mansoor Alam, Bangladesh Venture Capital Limited Consultant Dr. Nuruzzaman, World Bank Dhaka Office Senior Private Sector Specialist Hosne Ferdous Sumi, DID Project Innovation and Commercial Specialist ANM Safiqul Islam spoke as special guests.
Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Managing Director GSM Zafarullah said, ‘Bangladesh has emerged as a strong country in many areas. Many countries have not been successful in dealing with Covid. We are the nation that vaccinated crores of people in one day against covid. We can, yes, we can. Young entrepreneurs will take the country’s economy forward by exploiting the demographic dividend. Bangladesh will be the 25th economy in the world in 2041. Digital entrepreneurs will be supported step by step with pre-seed, seed fund, company formation, IP registration, mentoring along with marketing support to build a strong position not only in the country but also in the international market. Stay awake, stick to it.’
Hosne Ferdous Sumi, senior private sector specialist at the World Bank Dhaka office, said, ‘The program of making smart entrepreneurs in our Pride project is a small part of this big project. But this small part is very impactful. This project has a lot of work on digital startups, industrial development, private investment and more. More than 2 million young people enter the job market in Bangladesh every year. It is very difficult to create employment for them. Among them, SME entrepreneurs are creating 80 percent employment. The key to the employment engine actually lies in the hands of startups. The country’s expectations are highest from those who have started or will start as startups. The local and foreign experts who are in this program will provide all the support including knowledge, training, mentoring, networking to develop the youth as entrepreneurs. Hope you get the most out of this program to develop yourself.’
ANM Safiqul Islam, innovation and commercial specialist of DID Project, said, ‘Startups are receiving various support including money from government and private initiatives. But we are teaching how an entrepreneur should go through his entire journey. There was a dearth of government initiatives along the entire journey—from ideation to commercialization of a venture. Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority and World Bank have confirmed that matter through the DID project. Through this, we want to build an innovation ecosystem in the country. We are working towards the goal that each startup can emerge as a unicorn by being trained by talented faculty at the University Innovation Hub and developed through the Startup Scale Program.’
Md. Arifur Rahman, national level program coordinator of Smart Bangladesh Accelerator program, said that intensive training, business planning and growth support will be provided to more than one thousand digital startup founders under the Startup Scaleup program.