Bangladesh Tech Briefing #4: bKash Introduces Reward Points and Saving Service, Truck Lagbe Launches Insurance, Kludio Goes to Iterative, Daktar Bondhu rebrands

Bangladesh Tech Briefing Issue 4 covers:

• bKash Introduces Reward Points and Saving Service
• Truck Lagbe Launches Insurance
• Kludio Goes to Iterative
• Daktar Bondhu rebrands

bKash Introduces Reward Points and Saving Services. bKash, the leader in mobile financial services, has added two new features to its mobile app: reward points and a savings service where users can set up savings schemes with various financial institutions directly from the app.

• Reward points: The new reward points feature allows bKash users to earn points for using various bKash services such as cashout, mobile recharge, shopping, bill payment, etc. Those points are then converted to cashback. Users can view details of their rewards by tapping the bKash Reward Points icon next to the bKash logo on the app home page. In addition to managing your financial transactions, Kash has been slowly working towards making its app into a platform where you can buy and pay for different services without leaving the app. bKash's new reward point feature is likely to improve usage, allowing it to push other services through its app. 
• Saving service: bKash has also introduced a new service it is calling the Saving Service, which will let users open savings plans with financial institutions directly from the app. Currently, the service is available to a limited number of customers, and the company plans to expand it to more users in the coming days. 

Truck Lagbe Launches Insurance for truck drivers. Digital trucking startup Truck Lagbe, which connects truck owners and shippers via web and app, has launched a life insurance facility for truck and pickup drivers on its platform. The new feature will allow registered truck drivers to access life insurance through the Truck Lagbe app for an annual premium. The insurance is offered in partnership with Guardian Life Insurance, one of the country’s leading insurance companies, and is exclusively for truck drivers who work with Truck Lagbe. We published a separate analysis on this here. 

Kludio Goes to Iterative. Iterative, a Singapore-based startup accelerator, has selected food-tech startup Kludio, a Dhaka-based full-stack cloud kitchen, for its third batch of the accelerator program. Kludio is one of the ten startups that has been selected for this year’s cohort and is the only company from Bangladesh. 

Klaudio is the second Bangladeshi startup to join Iterative. Go Zayaan, a Bangladeshi travel-tech startup, was in Iterative's second cohort last year. Iterative runs a three-month-long accelerator program that invests US$150,000 in each shortlisted company in exchange for a 10% stake and helps founders connect with partners, peers, business leaders, industry experts, and investors, among other things. 

Daktar Bondhu rebrands to MedEasy. Daktar Bondhu, a Dhaka-based health-tech startup that offers services to patients, especially those who suffer from Diabetes, Hypertension, and other chronic illnesses, has rebranded to MedEasy. The change follows an undisclosed pre-seed investment from SBK Tech Ventures in June. 

About Bangladesh Tech Briefing: 

Bangladesh Tech Briefing is a newly launched newsletter from Future Startup covering everything you need to know about the fast-evolving tech industry in Bangladesh, from the companies to the people to the deals. Start reading for free and share if you enjoy it. 

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