Bangladeshi startups have been a regular presence in Accelerating Asia. For example, in last year's cohort 4, we saw 4 Bangladeshi startups out of 11. This year, out of 9 startups in cohort five, 3 are from Bangladesh. The companies are:
Dana Fintech: Dana enables banks, financial institutions, and fintechs to offer digital lending and buy now pay later (BNPL) facilities to underbanked SMEs and individuals through its unique credit scoring engine, digital underwriting, and API platforms. Dana Fintech has raised US$200,000 in seed funding, onboarded major financial institutions, and has teamed up with network partners including Ajkerdeal, Accelerating Asia portfolio company iFarmer, and Vcube.
Sohopathi: Sohopathi is an online social platform for peer-to-peer learning which enables any person to learn and teach at the same time. Sohopathi has established a community of 200,000 learners and top quality educators, improving the academic performance of 95 per cent of their learners.
Supply Line: Supply Line provides digital B2B procurement and invoice financing solutions to local retailers by connecting them with lenders and distributors, through one single platform. Introducing BNPL financing tools to marginal retailers, Supply Line has acquired 1200 active users within 5 months of operation.
Bangladeshi startups are increasingly becoming a common presence in the regional accelerator programs. Accelerating Asia has played an important role in finding and highlighting high-growth Bangladeshi startups since its inception in 2019. Last year and this year, we have seen Iterative, another Singapore-based accelerator program, selecting several Bangladeshi startups for its program. These programs have helped startups in Dhaka to attract greater attention from regional investors.
As Dhaka's startup ecosystem grows, we expect to see more companies going to these international programs for access early capital, know-how, and network.
