Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for ICT Division, has stated that the ‘Bangladesh Startup Summit’ will be conducted annually from now on, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s approval.
According to a press release, he made the statements during the closing ceremony of the country’s inaugural two-day Startup Summit, which was held on Sunday night at the Grand Ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel in the capital.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has promoted the startups by inaugurating three important initiatives, which are- ‘Bangladesh-India Startup Bridge’, ‘Fund of Funds’, and ‘Smart Bangladesh Accelerator’ at the inaugural ceremony. As the government is focusing on building the pool of talent, the summit will be held regularly from now on” the ICT minister said in his speech.
“Our youth are doing very well with their innovative ideas. We hope that startups will be the backbone of the country’s smart economy and smart Bangladesh in the near future,” Palak added.
Salman F Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister was present as the chief guest at the closing ceremony.
In his speech, Rahman said that, “Startups are not listed on the capital market. However, they are not barred from repatriating the income earned from investment in listed companies by ensuring the facility of receiving foreign investment.”
According to the announcement, he expressed hope that Bangladeshi business institute owners and foreigners will also contribute in the Fund of Funds and asked the ICT department to take the initiative.
Md Samsul Arefin, ICT Secretary, Sami Ahmed, Managing Director of Startup Bangladesh Limited, and Van Guen, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh, were among those who spoke at the event.
On July 29, the two-day ‘Bangladesh Startup Summit-2023’ began.
This year’s event drew 72 investors and 3,000 entrepreneurs from throughout the country, 100 global venture capital investors, 100 international-level speakers, and 600 startups.
