Published: 12:05 PM, 19 August 2026
Govt launches Tk 400 crore fund to boost startup investment
Bangladesh on Sunday launched a Tk 400 crore government-backed Fund of Funds to attract more domestic and foreign investment into the country’s startup ecosystem and encourage private investors to put more capital into promising ventures. The fund was launched at a programme organised by Startup Bangladesh Limited, the government’s venture capital and fund management institution under the ICT Division, at ICT Tower at Agargaon in the capital.
According to the organisers, Bangladeshi startups have attracted about $1.2 billion in investments over the past decade, but local investors accounted for only about 7 per cent of the total.
The Fund of Funds aims to address the imbalance by strengthening local capital, attracting foreign investment and developing the country’s venture capital industry and a sustainable financing framework for startups.
It is also expected to build the capacity of local fund managers, improve investment standards, create jobs and strengthen Bangladesh’s position as a venture capital destination.
Posts, telecommunications and information technology and science and technology minister Fakir Mahbub Anam said that Bangladesh had no shortage of talented entrepreneurs or innovative ideas, but many promising ventures were being held back by a lack of financing.
‘We want to build an investment-friendly environment where no promising venture is held back due to a lack of money,’ he said.
The minister said that the Fund of Funds would provide catalytic capital to reputed domestic and international venture capital funds as matching capital, encouraging them to increase investment in Bangladeshi startups.
He said that the government alone could not finance the startup ecosystem and urged private-sector investors to participate.
‘Venture capital and startup investment involve considerable risks. To encourage the private sector, the government has taken the initiative to provide catalytic capital through the Fund of Funds to reduce those risks,’ he said.
Calling the initiative a ‘game-changing’ step for Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem, Anam said that promising entrepreneurs would gain access not only to capital, but also to expertise and international networks.
Startup Bangladesh has already invested around Tk 111 crore in 36 technology-based startups, he said, adding that more promising ventures would be considered for investment.
The minister also said that the government had allocated Tk 500 crore for startup development in the current financial year 2026-27 to support the commercialisation of innovative initiatives by young entrepreneurs and promote new industries.
He said that the Fund of Funds would be managed with the highest priority given to professionalism, good governance and efficiency, adding that fund managers seeking investment would have to undergo a world-class evaluation process.
Adviser to the prime minister on the posts, telecommunications and information technology and science and technology ministries Rehan Asif Asad said that venture capital and startups could play an important role in diversifying Bangladesh’s future economic growth.
‘Startups need not only financing but also mentorship, skills, market access and technological support. These forms of support should be ensured alongside investment through the proposed Fund of Funds,’ he said.
Startup Bangladesh managing director and chief executive officer Nurul Hai presented the fund’s structure and investment strategy.
At the programme, Startup Bangladesh formally invited applications from interested venture capital firms via a Request for Expression of Interest, initiating the selection of fund managers for the Bangladesh Fund of Funds.
JICA representative Morikawa Yuko, among others, attended the programme.
