The entrepreneurship minded youth of Bangladesh have already been able to garner recognition in the world for making significant inroads into the startup culture, State Minister of ICT Division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak said.
The State Minister also lauded the media for showcasing this success while addressing an award giving ceremony organized by ICT Division to pay tribute to the top 20 startups which were selected through “National Exhibition for Startup Bangladesh” on June 21, 2017.
“We have taken initiatives in Bangladesh to form a startup culture in the country under the leadership and direction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the ICT Affairs’ Advisor, Sajeeb Wazed Joy; so through this step, we had allocated spaces for 50 leading startups at Janata Tower for free in 2015.”
He said that to inspire young innovators, ICT Division has taken up projects for building innovation and entrepreneurs’ development academics. Besides providing the financial support to startups, every amenity like co-working space, mentoring and startup’s training is also an important concern of the project.
Moreover, there will be dedicated floor spaces for the startups at 28 Hi-tech and software technology parks which are already under construction,” said Palak.
Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, Professor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) professor attended the function as a special guest. He said, “The merit and innovative power of our youth are very commendable. They will go far if they get little support.”
The 20 winners of the startup challenge got crests and certificates in the function. The winner startups are: TruckChai, Meditor, HandyMama, Shop-up, Sniffer, Advance Driver Assistance and Monitoring System, Digitalize Laundry Industry, Garageman, Mobile Manager for Retail Shop, Advanced Vehicle Security System, Artificial Intelligence Based Price Comparison Engine, Career Bot, CMED, Manufacture and Distribution of Indigenously Developed and Tested Telemedicine, AppBazaar, Pathfinder, Heroes of 71: Mukticamp, Hashtag, Admission Ninja.
The champion startups will also get the space for free at Kaliakoir Bangabandhu Hi-tech City and Jessore’s Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park. Moreover, they have been selected for the next step of Idea Project.
Later, the ceremony ended with the wrap up speech of the Bangladesh Computer Council Executive Director’s president, Swapan Kumar Sarkar.
