Seven Bangladeshis have been named to Forbes’ 2023 list of Asia’s entrepreneurs and social changemakers under the age of 30. Bangladeshi adolescents have routinely topped the list for numerous years.
Since 2011, Forbes has published the list. This year, seven Bangladeshi teenagers were honored for their contributions to consumer technology, media, marketing, and advertising, and social effect.
Arman co-founded Jatri to use technology to assist solve Bangladesh’s chaotic transportation situation. Last year, the Dhaka Bus Owners’ Association agreed to deploy the startup’s e-ticketing system for the capital city’s 5,650 public buses, ensuring equitable pricing for customers. Jatri also provides chartered and rental car services. The company received USD 1.2 million in pre-seed stage fundraising from investors in 2021, increasing its total funding to USD 5.25 million. Arman was ranked 25th in the consumer technology category.
Markopolo.ai provides digital marketing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to write ad material rapidly and seamlessly cross-post on social media. The company’s subscription-based software employs machine learning models that can recognize patterns to predict ad performance and anticipate peak posting conditions.
Relaxy was developed by Jahnnobi Rahman, a recent computer science graduate, to provide an easy digital answer to an increasing number of young Bangladeshis suffering with mental health concerns. Relaxy provides free services such as mood check-ins and meditations, but it makes money by providing on-demand virtual therapy sessions at a low cost. Its app was just chosen the second runner-up in Huawei’s ICT Incubator 2022 in Bangladesh, and over 15,000 users have downloaded it. She came in 24th place in the social effect category.
Diptha Saha is the co-founder and COO of 2022’s agriculture supply chain platform. Agroshift enables businesses to source directly from farmers, lowering consumer costs and assisting farmers in receiving a fair price. The agritech firm won H&M’s STITCH for RMG Global Innovation Challenge last year, which aims to enhance the lifestyles of women in the garment industry. It secured USD 1.8 million in a pre-seed round sponsored by Shorooq Partners and Anchorless Bangladesh in October. He came in 27th place in the consumer technology category.
Tahura and Sayef co-founded Turtle Venture, the country’s first venture studio dedicated to assisting and encouraging local entrepreneurs. It has worked with 90 entrepreneurs since 2018, assisting them in raising over USD 15 million in initial finance. Turtle Venture, in addition to conducting accelerator programs for women in technology, it offers a program called “Young Turtle” that encourages entrepreneurship among university students. In the social impact category, Tahura was ranked 26th while Sayef was placed 29th.
