2015 has been a big year for Bangladesh Startup ecosystem. Following the works and buzz of 2014, we have seen real results in 2015. New startups launched. Startups got funded. Companies failed. Successful events held and more.
As we are about to say good-bye to 2015, here are 10, inspiring and interesting, startup stories of 2015.
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1. Inside Styline: How This Startup Plans To Win Online Hijab Business In Bangladesh
Styline, an exclusive online hijab lifestyle startup based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, launched early this year with a vision to become home to hijab lifestyle products for Bangladeshi women. We did a long form story on Styline back then. The startup, came out of Founder Institute Dhaka, was doing pretty well and seeing a quite steady response from the market.
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2. JeteChao.com: Inside Dhaka’s Fledgling Events Listing Platform
Founded by Mehnaz Tabassum and Reem Shamsuddoha, JeteChao aims to become a source of enjoyment, a guide to explore Dhaka, and something that helps one to get rid of boredom when also enriching life. While listing events, that are happening, about to happen, in Dhaka, JeteChao also plans to personalize events search on its platform and connect one with the events he/she is looking for.
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3. Bdtickets.com Is Yet Another Shohoz.com With A Little Less Smooth Website
We have got a new online ticketing service this month, Bdtickets.com. From now on you can book and buy tickets online and get them delivered to your place via Bdtickets. The value proposition is obvious: get tickets hassle free, from anywhere.
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4. Inside Beshto
Started about two and half years ago, Bestho is a Bangladeshi social interaction driven crowd sourced content platform. It is hard to explain Bestho in few words because it is combination of a host of interesting features. Let’s run through all of its features. Beshto is a social content platform: you can write short and long posts, share jokes, ideas, and everything.
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5. Story of Tokopedia and Hard Earned Lessons On Building A Startup
Only last year, Tokopedia, one of Indonesia’s leading online marketplace sites, received US$100 million in fresh cash from two venture giants SoftBank and Seqouia Capital. This not only brought Tokopedia in limelight but also caught the attention of potential investors from all over the world in the Indonesian market enabling the Indonesian entrepreneurs to dream big! But like Rome, Tokopedia wasn’t built in a day. It took as long as 5 years for this venture to attract the investing giants as SoftBank and Sequoia and bag the largest round of funding in the Indonesian tech startup history.
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6. Journey Of Piktochart: How An Asian Startup Has Become A Global Player
The world today is very fast and there are hundreds of things that are demanding our attention at the same time. As a result attention becomes the scarcest resource. From television to smartphone to web, everything is calling for slightest amount of spare time we have. What is needed to get the attention of your potential audience in such an atmosphere where attention is easily diverted? The answer is obvious: a better presentation, a better approach to calling someone’s attention but the question of how we do that remains unresolved. This is where Piktochart– a startup that helps people to make beautiful infographic, chart, and presentation by using a web based app-comes into play.
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7. Chorki: A Search Engine For Bangladesh
Back in 2014 when team Chorki started talking about starting something of their own, all of the members were working for established big brands. “We’re working full time and every day after work we met together and sit and talk about what we could do. We wanted to start something that would contribute to something big and solve a solid problem,” says Rashed. When you are working full time it is hard to find time, quality time especially, to discuss ideas and get things done. Same thing happened to Chorki team. To solve the problem they took an office and started to structure their idea.
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8. How Rocket Internet Group Is Taking Over Bangladesh’s Tech Startup Scene
Rocket Internet Group which states becoming the largest internet platform outside USA and China as their mission is a German based incubator. It uses existing internet business models to explore under served or untapped markets. In recent years the company has extensively increased its focus and operation in Asia. As part of their extensive focus in high growth potential in emerging economies it has launched 4 consecutive startups in Bangladesh taking the lead in the areas of internet marketplace and online food delivery system.
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9. Meenu Apa Aims To Make Buying Care Packages Of Menstrual Needs Simple
Meenu Apa, a local startup, founded by a Bangladeshi woman aims to take pain out of getting pads and all period needs of women. The startup launched in early march received huge attention for its intuitive approach to solve a problem that has long been overlooked.
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10. Small Is The New Big: Local Startup Horin Branding Aims To Enable SMEs To Fight Big Brands
Horing Branding takes the pain to understand the needs of SMEs and devises plan and strategy to better serve them and enable them to fight back and survive in the market. Horin Branding offers brand planning, design support, and digital marketing service to SMEs at a price which is almost 20 times less than conventional marketing firms. The purpose is to help SMEs to understand competition and prepare them to stand the competition.
