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Messages - Reyed Mia, Daffodil

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1
How to Raise Angel Investment for Startups in Bangladesh


Angel investors are those who invest seed money into a business to kick start its operation. This investment usually comes in exchange for convertible debt or equity in the ownership of the company. From a startup perspective, angel investments are a great way to secure funds as well as mentorship from the investors working in the relevant industry. Here is how a business can raise angel investment, especially if they are from Bangladesh.

The Angel Investment Landscape of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is still in the early stages of angel investment. There were not many investors a few years back in the startup ecosystem. However, the pace is picking up. Bangladesh Startup Investment Report of 2022 shows that Bangladeshi startups were able to raise $112 million in 2022. A total of 47 startups were able to secure funds, among whom 39 brought unique service propositions. The largest funding was received by ShopUp who were able to raise $65 million from Valar Ventures and Flourish Ventures.

About 8% of the total funding came from local investors. On average, the angel investment size for early-stage startups was around $588K. Bangladesh is in the lower tier when it comes to securing venture funds.

How to Get Angel Investment in Bangladesh
Getting an angel investor to invest is neither straightforward nor easy. A startup will need to put in the work, especially in Bangladesh where the investment ratio is low. There are several key things to consider when it comes to securing angel investment. Here are some of them.

Clear Business Idea and Plan
A startup should have a clear business idea backed up by a strong and detailed plan to secure angel investment. The plan should outline the startup's mission, market opportunity, revenue model, target audience, competition analysis, marketing strategy, and financial projections. A solid business plan is crucial for gaining investor confidence.

Market Validation
Investors look for product or service confidence while investing. As a result, it is important to create a market validation of the startup product or service before making the initial approach for funds.

Market validation can be done by developing a market-viable product. This product or service can be channeled to early adopters and customers. Based on their experience, a positive narrative for the product can be developed. This will play a crucial role in securing early-stage angel investment.

Assess the Pros and Cons of Early-Stage Investment
Many startups make the mistake of raising money just for the sake of it. This is where many startups get embroiled in the process. Before attracting investment in the early stage, assess whether the funds are actually needed or not.

The stakes for early-stage investments are quite high. Investors might demand higher equity or convertible debt just because of the risk involved in investing. Try and understand whether foregoing equity at an early stage aligns with the long-term plan of the startup or not.

Understand the Legal Intricacies
The concept of angel investment is still relatively new in Bangladesh. The nature of the operation of angel investment makes it important for founders to understand the legal bindings of investment contracts.

Angel investment comes in at a very early stage of a startup. Most founders fail to properly grasp the legal bindings or get carried away with the investment itself. The rule is simple in this regard, be intelligent and understand all the legal formalities before entering into a contract no matter how lucrative the investment might be.

Invest Time
Unlike a few years ago,  there are now organizations in Bangladesh that actively help startups to raise investments. There is Bangladesh Angels network specifically for angel investment which connects the angels and founders.

Depending on the process of valuation, securing an investment and closing the deal might take time. The key here is to persevere and invest time and effort into securing the funds.

Research Potential Angel Investors
Identify the angel investors who have previously invested in a similar industry and niche. Attend startup events, join entrepreneurship communities, and leverage the existing network to make connections.

Bangladesh Angels network can be a great starting point as they have a diverse portfolio of investors under a single platform.

Creating and Practicing a Pitch Deck
A pitch deck is essentially like a presentation slide. It should showcase important information like value proposition, market opportunity, competitive advantage, team, financials, and funding requirements. A pitch should be concise and visually appealing. Also, practice the delivery of the pitch deck. The idea here is to convince the investors in a limited time. Being clear and eloquent will help to visualize the value more easily to the potential investors.

Legal and Financial Due Diligence
Before approaching potential investors, it is important to conduct proper financial and legal due diligence. It is like cleaning the home before inviting someone over. The first thing that the investors would look into right before or right after the investment is the startup's legal, financial, and operational aspects.

If these aspects are not sorted properly, it might create a negative impression and the investor might pull out altogether.

Networking and Connection
It is important to utilize the platform created by different investment and venture capital firms in Bangladesh. Attend events, workshops, and networking sessions to establish connections with potential investors.

Even if it is not possible to secure funds in the early stage, building the network and connection would definitely help out in the long run.

Final Words
From the perspective of Bangladesh, raising angel investment is not an easy task, more often than not, there would be failure instead of success. Rather than giving up, it is important to persevere and identify the lacking that might deter a potential investor.

Another pro tip is not to attract too many angel investors. Keeping the number low can help to maintain the control and direction of the startup as well as get valuable industry insights. The angel investment platform in Bangladesh is growing and it will continue to add value to the startup ecosystem.


Source: https://unb.com.bd/category/Business/how-to-raise-angel-investment-for-startups-in-bangladesh/119600

2
Impact Investment / Eight start-ups to get Tk 8cr investment
« on: March 07, 2023, 03:22:04 PM »
Eight start-ups to get Tk 8cr investment



Robi's flagship digital entrepreneurship contest r-ventures 3.0 concluded on March 5 with eight start-ups being given the promise of being provided investments of over Tk 8 crore in total.

Four digital start-ups received over Tk 2 crore investment from RedDot Digital Limited, a subsidiary of Robi Axiata Ltd and sponsor of r-ventures private equity fund, Robi said in a press release.

At the same time, SBK Tech Ventures and angel investor Kaniz Almas Khan pledged to invest Tk 3.5 crore in four start-ups.

At the event, Startup Bangladesh Limited, the venture capital fund of ICT Division, also pledged an investment of Tk 2.5 crore in the start-ups.

Following a thorough screening process, 11 digital start-ups took part in the grand finale at Sheraton hotel in Dhaka.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the state minister for ICT, announced an investment of Tk 10 lakh from the ICT Division to all the top 11 teams of the competition.

Robi's Chief Commercial Officer Shihab Ahmad and RedDot Digital's CEO Hasib Mustabsir also attended the programme.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/eight-start-ups-get-tk-8cr-investment-3265006

3
Seed Investment / Fundraising and the art of the seed round
« on: March 04, 2023, 05:19:05 PM »
    Fundraising and the art of the seed round



    Let's get this out of the way: Fundraising is only a part of a much larger process. While it provides some short-term validation and buzz, it does not guarantee actual success. The value of a startup at its Seed or Series A stage is largely irrelevant if it cannot build something meaningful that someone will eventually pay for. For that, customers need to be listened to, the product needs to be improved upon and the company needs access to expertise, resources and meaningful capital.

    As usual, though this article is focused on the Bangladeshi startup ecosystem, much of it is relevant to companies and founders all around the world.

    Here's what will be covered:

    What are the goals of fundraising?
    Is it absolutely necessary to fundraise?
    Different types of capital
    How does a venture capital fund work?
    How do institutional investors add value?
    How do institutional funds differ from angels or corporate investors?
    How should you structure your Seed round?
    Should you include angels in your Seed round?
    The importance of institutional investors
    Quality of capital matters—valuation does not
    Quick caveats on raising your Seed round
    Raise when you don't need money
    Is there a capital shortage for Bangladeshi startups?

    What are the goals of fundraising?
    On the surface, fundraising is about getting capital to grow your business. In practice, it's much, much more:

    Getting access to global resources
    Getting access to domain experts
    Getting access to more capital
    Putting your company in a stronger position vs. competitors[/li][/list]

    Is it absolutely necessary to fundraise?
    In short: No. Companies can be financially sustainable via three key methods:

    1. By having positive cashflow to grow organically
    2. By receiving grants and donor funding (as is common with NGOs and social enterprises)
    3. By raising external funding, either via equity or debt, to fuel growth and competitiveness

    It entirely depends on the founders and the type of business. Certain businesses with low overhead and operational costs do not need to fundraise in order to grow steadily. They may choose to fundraise if they want to accelerate growth or expand their business further. This is especially common for product-driven SaaS (software-as-a-service).

    By nature, many startups tend to solve complex problems requiring significant amounts of capital to get started. For such companies, investors with risk-tolerant capital are required.

    What is risk-tolerant capital and how does it differ?


    Different types of capital
    Below is a risk vs. reward assessment of different types of capital. The term "risk-tolerant" indicates capital that is on the farther right side of this chart. Accordingly, these types of capital (especially venture capital) require a very high rate of return to justify the risk it undertakes.

    Think of it this way: If you have $100, you may be willing to lose $1 if that $1 has the chance to return you $10. However, you wouldn't do that with $50 or even $20 of the $100. 

    Most investors typically allocate their money into a blend of bonds, real estate and mutual funds/equities, keeping only a small amount to allocate to venture capital.

    How does a venture capital fund work?

    When wealthy individuals, families or organizations (such as pension funds, sovereign funds or endowments) want to invest in venture capital, they will usually allocate their money to an "institutional" venture capital fund. What does this mean?

    Institutional venture capital funds (such as Anchorless Bangladesh) are professionally managed funds that invest on behalf of external investors in return for a management and performance fee. In other words, fund managers only get paid if their investors make money. Typically, a venture capital fund takes 2% management fee plus a 20% performance fee. While the actual math can be a bit more complicated, it basically means if someone is running a $10 million fund, they can take $200,000 in management fee every year to run the fund. In addition, if the portfolio returns a value of $50 million, then the fund takes a 20% performance fee, or in this case, $8 million (20% of $50 million minus the initial $10 million).


    How do institutional investors add value?
    The #1 priority for institutional funds is providing a return to their investors. In order to achieve this, these funds are often structured to support founders in various ways:

    -Funds will typically reserve around 50% of their capital for follow-on investments into existing portfolio companies. This is critical for founders. If Fund X decides to invest in Company A, and Company A successfully scales the business and achieves its ideal metrics, it's possible Company A will want to raise more money for further growth. At that point it can ask its institutional investors for additional capital. In most cases, such investors will double or even triple down on their investment. That means the startup does not have to bring in all new investors into the round; they get a headstart with their existing investors already agreeing to a lot of it.
    -Funds will help their startups raise capital. This can include everything from introductions to other investors to even asking the fund's even larger investors to come and support the portfolio companies on a co-investment basis. This is especially key as an institutional fund can share its existing due diligence materials and be a reference check for companies to speed up the fundraising process.
    -Funds often have additional in-house resources to allocate to founders. For instance, Andreessen Horowitz is widely known for helping startups hire good talent.  Other resources include in-house CFO services and access to global mentors with expertise in specific fields.
    -Funds will often use their networks to help founders do business development per the founders' needs.


    How do institutional funds differ from angels or corporate investors?
    Angels are individual investors who often manage their own personal portfolios in addition to their day job. Then there are some "super" angels who make a living out of it, especially when they've had a couple of big success stories. The quality of angels can vary quite a bit depending on experience and know-how. However, the key difference between an angel and an institutional fund is the fund has a fiduciary duty to continue supporting companies in the portfolio on behalf of their investors as long as it makes sense on a return basis. Angels, if they wish, can walk away at any time. This is why it's important that founders and angels understand each other well before they commit to each other.

    Corporate venture capital is generally investment that's done off of a company's balance sheet. While strategic corporate investment can be valuable to a company's success (especially in later stages), it comes with one major caveat: If the corporate investor changes its business strategy and/or management, it's possible the investment will no longer be looked upon as a priority.

    In both of these cases, institutional funds are, again, mandated to support their investments financially (using their reserve capital) and via additional resources (such as hiring and business development), whereas angels and corporate venture investors are not. This is especially relevant when you realize venture capital fund managers don't get paid unless the fund does well!


    How should you structure your Seed round?
    Once you understand 1) where in the risk vs. reward scale startups and venture capital are, and 2) how institutional venture funds, angels and corporate venture differ, it's easier to construct an ideal Seed round.

    The goal for every startup for its Seed should be to have an institutional venture capital fund lead. What does a lead do?

    - It runs due diligence on the company to confirm the business is real and the personnel are qualified
    - It sets a valuation for the round
    - It prepares relevant legal documents for the deal
    - Most importantly, it gives confidence to other investors who want to participate in the deal along with them

    If you want to know which funds tend to lead, you can check out Crunchbase. For instance, Wavemaker Partners (who most recently led a round for Shikho) has led 116 of their 507 investments:

    Information on funds and deals is often publicly available on sites like Crunchbase. Every startup founder needs to be familiar with it.

    In addition to a lead institutional investor, it's preferable to have another one or two institutional funds participate, meaning they write a smaller check along with the lead with hopes that they can possibly participate or even lead the round after. Incidentally, before Wavemaker Partners led Shikho's latest round, they previously participated in the previous round (which was co-led by Anchorless Bangladesh and Learn Capital).


    Should you include angels in your Seed round?
    Absolutely! However, it is critical to make sure they can add value to your company. Ultimately, you want folks on your cap table (or shareholding structure) who you want to work with for 5+ years, who can add value to the specific work that you're doing and who you see eye to eye with. In Shikho's Seed round, the startup had a strategic angel investor in Ankur Nagpal who previously had sold an edtech startup for US$250 million. Ankur not only brought domain knowledge to Shikho but also went on to participate again, this time through his own fund Vibe Capital, into the next round.

    The importance of institutional investors
    This is worth repeating: Institutional investors typically are mandated to support startups through multiple rounds because fund managers do not get paid unless portfolio companies are successful. This becomes even more relevant when a startup goes to raise another round.

    For instance, Shikho closed US$1.3 million in funding in July 2021 and then another US$4 million in March 2022—and every investor from the first round participated in an even larger size in the second round. In fact, existing investors wanted to fund nearly the whole round, meaning the founders at Shikho didn't have to start their fundraising from square one. Instead, they could go to the market having the confidence that their existing investors were supporting them. This gave a strong signal to incoming investors and made Shahir and Zeeshan's ability to raise capital much, much easier—and the round ended up being oversubscribed to the point where the founders could decide who they wanted and how they wanted to allocate.

    The best Bangladeshi example of what happens when you have strong institutional investors backing you may be ShopUp:

    Omidyar Network, who led the initial Seed round in 2018, came back in 2020 to invest in Series A (under Flourish Ventures, a spin-off from Omidyar Network focused on impact fintech) alongside Sequoia India, which runs the Surge accelerator. This means Afeef and the team at ShopUp had support on day one from two key investors that then helped them raise a subsequent US$174 million!

    Realistically, investors don't want founders to just fundraise—they want them to spend their time running the company! So, the more an investor can help a company close rounds of capital, the better it is for both parties.


    Quality of capital matters—valuation does not
    Not all money is the same. As a founder, if you're looking to give up 20% of your company in a round, you want to make sure the money you bring in has long-term value. It's best to have a blend of investors whom you believe can be meaningful to your company's goal, including institutional investors and strategic angels. Remember that the earliest investors will often be the most incentivized to see you succeed (as their valuations will likely be the lowest). So, you want to take your time and find investors who you want to get into a relationship with.

    Unfortunately, many founders overestimate the valuation of a company too early. What really matters is the value of a founder's equity over multiple rounds, over a longer period of time. Below is a hypothetical comparison between two companies that bring in high-quality investors at a lower valuation vs. random investors at a higher valuation:

    What is most important to remember here is that the jump from Seed to A and A to B is the hardest because it requires the company to break through significant market barriers in scaling and access. This is where high-quality investors matter the most.

    The key takeaway is that incentivizing high-quality investors to fight for the company can pay off in the longer term. Remember, just because someone "values" you at $5 million doesn't mean you can actually sell the company for that much. The valuation takes into effect future value, most of which you may not have even created or built yet… and in order for you to realize that value, you will need investors who can help you get there.


    Quick caveats on raising your Seed round
    - Expect to speak to a lot of investors. Because of this, your initial filtering process should target mostly institutional VCs who are likely to lead your round. Here is a fundraising funnel template to assist you.
    - Understand mandates. An Indian fund that's been told by its investors to only invest in India is likely not going to invest in Bangladesh even if they're "close by." A U.S. fund that has a global strategy just might, however.
    - Get warm introductions. VCs get tons of pitches every week. It's best to stand out by getting a referral from someone they trust so you stand out.
    - It takes longer than you think. Expect 6 months minimum and up to 9-12 months. Even after receiving a term sheet, there's usually additional due diligence and followed by period where parties have to agree to the deal and legal terms.
    - Give yourself a window to make a decision. You can always "get a better deal" theoretically, but it may come at the expense of your company's ability to keep momentum. Or it may never come—which many, especially in the SaaS space—have just experienced with the recent economic downturn.
    - Be honest with yourself. It's easy to blame others for shortfalls in fundraising, but the truth is nobody is entitled to capital. There must be an agreement between two parties, each with separate ideologies and interests, in order to make a deal happen. It's important to note where the disconnects are, including where the founders/startups have shortfalls. On that note, I suggest reading this self-reflective piece by Airwrk Co-Founder & CEO Sayem Faruk on what he's learned so far.

    Raise when you don't need money
    One of the most common mistakes founders make is waiting too late to raise capital. When a startup has little runway, they lose their ability to negotiate on terms. However, when a startup has the cash, it can comfortably go into an investor pitch and say, "We're comfortable for 18 months. However, we'd like to strengthen our position and are raising X amount." Not only does that send a signal to investors that the founders are thinking ahead, it also excites them that they can be part of a successful journey.

    Is there a capital shortage for Bangladeshi startups?
    The answer is simple: No. In fact, there is more interest to invest in Bangladeshi startups than there has ever been.

    Bangladesh continues to be a vast, growing consumption powerhouse of 170 million people, including 35 million in the middle and rising middle class. With valuations being regionally low, startups that solve for this market should have little problem attracting capital. The key remains for founders to focus on institutional rounds so that capital for future growth is more readily available.

    A disciplined, clinical fundraising strategy combined with a qualified, experienced founding team and a visible, executable go-to-market strategy are the cornerstones of closing a proper Seed round that sets up a startup for long-term success.

    The author is the Founding Partner & CEO of Anchorless Bangladesh


    Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/tech-startup/news/fundraising-and-the-art-the-seed-round-3262256

    4
    Entrepreneurship / How Sweden became the Silicon Valley of Europe
    « on: August 12, 2021, 10:37:08 AM »
    How Sweden became the Silicon Valley of Europe

    Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski in the company's office in Stockholm, Sweden, August 25, 2020 Reuters

    Sweden's home computer drive, and concurrent early investment in internet connectivity, help explain why its capital Stockholm has become such rich soil for startups, birthing and incubating the likes of Spotify, Skype and Klarna, even though it has some of the highest tax rates in the world


    As Klarna's billionaire founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski prepares to stage one of the biggest-ever European fintech company listings, a feast of capitalism, he credits an unlikely backer for his runaway success: the Swedish welfare state.

    In particular, the 39-year-old pinpoints a late-1990s government policy to put a computer in every home.

    "Computers were inaccessible for low-income families such as mine, but when the reform came into play, my mother bought us a computer the very next day," he told Reuters.

    Siemiatkowski began coding on that computer when he was 16. Fast-forward more than two decades, and his payments firm Klarna is valued at $46 billion and plans to go public. It hasn't given details, though many bankers predict it will list in New York early next year.

    Sweden's home computer drive, and concurrent early investment in internet connectivity, help explain why its capital Stockholm has become such rich soil for startups, birthing and incubating the likes of Spotify, Skype and Klarna, even though it has some of the highest tax rates in the world.

    That's the view of Siemiatkowski and several tech CEOs and venture capitalists interviewed by Reuters.

    In the three years the scheme ran, 1998-2001, 850,000 home computers were purchased through it, reaching almost a quarter of the country's then-four million households, who didn't have to pay for the machines and thus included many people who were otherwise unable to afford them.

    In 2005, when Klarna was founded, there were 28 broadband subscriptions per 100 people in Sweden, compared with 17 in the United States - where dial-up was still far more common - and a global average of 3.7, according to data from the World Bank.

    Spotify allowed users to stream music when Apple's iTunes was still download-based, which gave the Swedish company the upper-hand when streaming became the norm around the world.

    "That could only happen in a country where broadband was the standard much earlier, while in other markets the connection was too slow," Siemiatkowski said.

    "That allowed our society to be a couple of years ahead."

    Some executives and campaigners say the Scandinavian nation demonstrates that a deep social safety net, often viewed as counter to entrepreneurial spirit, can foster innovation. It's an outcome that might not have been envisaged by the architects of Sweden's welfare state in the 1950s.

    Childcare is, for the most part, free. A range of income insurance funds can protect you if your business fails or you lose your job, guaranteeing up to 80% of your previous salary for the first 300 days of unemployment.

    "The social safety net we have in Sweden allows us to be less vulnerable to taking risks," said Gohar Avagyan, the 31-year-old co-founder of Vaam, a video messaging service used for sales pitches and customer communication.

    Startup rate vs Silicon Valley


    Although overall investments are larger in the bigger European economies of Britain and France and their longstanding finance hubs, Sweden punches above its weight in some regards.

    It has the third highest startup rate in the world, behind Turkey and Spain, with 20 startups per 1000 employees and the highest three year survival rate for startups anywhere, at 74%, according to a 2018 study by OECD economists.

    Stockholm is second only to Silicon Valley in terms of unicorns - startups valued at above $1 billion - per capita, at around 0.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to Sarah Guemouri at venture capital firm Atomico.

    Silicon Valley - San Francisco and the Bay Area - boasts 1.4 unicorns per 100,000, said Guemouri, co-author of a 2020 report on European tech companies.

    No one can say for sure if the boom will last, though, in a country where capital gains are taxed at 30 percent and income tax can be as high as 60 percent.

    In 2016, Spotify said it was considering moving its headquarters out of the country, arguing high taxes made it difficult to attract overseas talent, though it hasn't done so.

    Yusuf Ozdalga, partner at venture capital firm QED Investors, said access to funding and administrative or legal tasks connected with founding a company could also prove tough to navigate for non-Swedish speakers.

    He contrasted that to Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, where the government adopted English as an official language in April to make life easier for international companies.

    'Interesting dilemma' for VC

    Jeppe Zink, partner at London-based venture capital firm Northzone, said a third of all the exit value from fintech companies in Europe - the amount received by investors when they cash out - came from Sweden alone.

    Government policy had contributed to this trend, he added.

    "Its an interesting dilemma for us venture capitalists as we're not used to regulation creating markets, in fact we are inherently nervous about regulation."

    Sweden's digital minister Anders Ygeman said that social regulation could make it "possible to fail" and then "be up and running again" for innovators.

    Peter Carlsson, CEO of startup Northvolt, which makes Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and is valued at $11.75 billion, said that ultimately success bred success.

    "You're really creating ripple effects when you're seeing the success of somebody else and I think that's perhaps the most important thing in order to create local ecosystems."

    Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2021/08/11/how-sweden-became-the-silicon-valley-of-europe

    5
    Venture Capital / Water Purification or Water Safety
    « on: November 29, 2020, 10:36:48 AM »
    Water Purification or Water Safety


    Bangladesh – one of the most densely populated countries of the world— has plentiful water sources, but these sources are being polluted continuously. Both surface water and groundwater sources are contaminated with different contaminants like toxic trace metals, coliforms as well as other organic and inorganic pollutants. As most of the population uses these water sources, especially groundwater sources which contain an elevated amount of arsenic throughout the country; health risk regarding consuming water is very high. Death due to water-borne diseases is widespread in Bangladesh, particularly among children.

    According to world bank safety water report 2019: $100 million financing agreement with the World Bank to ensure improved water supply, sanitation, and drainage system in selected 30 municipalities, benefiting about 600,000 people. So, government and private both looks concern in water safety issues.

    In these circumstances, many financial organization try to invest in water purification or water safety maintenance sector. Based on business in water safety, there are various business opportunity create such as Trading purifier product and sell, production purifier materials, Invent device for purification, Water cleaning and maintenance, Water refinery system setup etc.

    According to investor's eye, there are few characteristics of the business are lucrative for the investor to invest in the business.

       The company must have experience and domain knowledge in water purification/safety segment.
       If anyone works with the product then proper knowledge to use and solution system.
       Working experience minimum 1 year and owned relevant product for work purpose.
       Serve the service minimum of 10 different clients.
       Maintain and preserve client and other working documents.
       If invent device then patent and sell at least 2-3 client for good client feedback.
       If need maintenance warranty issues for customer satisfaction.
       Complete setup for water purification or relevant task. There are not only need huge setup but also have setup at least doing the job.

    6
    Entrepreneurship not about making money but having a purpose: Kiran Majumdar-Shaw


    Entrepreneurship is not about making money but about having a purpose, renowned businesswoman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw told Delhi government school students on Wednesday.

    She was speaking during an online session organised by the government’s Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum team.

    “Entrepreneurship is not just about making money. Have a vision of how you can make a difference in the life of others. You should always have a purpose. That purpose will drive you to succeed. You should always think of giving back to society,” she told the students.

    Shaw is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, Asia’s leading bio-pharmaceuticals enterprise.

    She touched upon various aspects of becoming an entrepreneur during the interaction.

    “When I came back from Australia after completing my post-graduation and bagging top rank in my college, I was extremely confident of getting a good job. Instead, I did not get a single offer as nobody wanted to offer a job to a woman.

    “I was completely shattered, but my father gave me the strength and did not let me lose hope. Ultimately I trusted my skill set and believed in myself. Eventually, I started my own business,” she said.

    “The journey of becoming a successful entrepreneur has not been an easy one. During my initial days, nobody was willing to give me a loan for my business as they did not understand biotechnology and therefore, did not understand my business idea.

    “But there was one person who found it interesting and agreed to provide me the loan. Therefore, whenever you feel stuck in a situation, there will always be a person who will listen to you, you just need to be patient and do not give up,” Shaw added.

    The session was chaired by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

    “Entrepreneurship mindset means we should look at every opportunity with a new perspective, irrespective of the career option we choose. A student may become an engineer, doctor, or anything else, but they should also have that mindset that if required, they can set up their own business and become a job provider,” he told the students.


    Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/entrepreneurship-not-about-making-money-but-having-a-purpose-kiran-majumdar-shaw-152353

    7
    Venture Capital / Bangladesh Investment Handbook - A Guide for Investors
    « on: August 19, 2020, 11:58:19 AM »
    Bangladesh Investment Handbook - A Guide for Investors


    See the full (220 pages) Guideline for Investors: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PC37piDXSBkCy-MIw2cNJ8RDY1mPzeQz/view?usp=sharing

    Download from the DIU Library: https://archives.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd/search




    8
    Investment Process / Investment Process
    « on: October 14, 2018, 10:54:10 AM »
    Investment Process


    9
    Investment Process / Giving poor people cash is a good idea
    « on: October 14, 2018, 10:51:50 AM »
    Giving poor people cash is a good idea. Giving entrepreneurs cash might be a great one



    Give the people money
    The idea of giving poor people people cash, no strings attached, has gotten increasingly popular over the past several decades. Rather than offering education, job training or food, mounting evidence shows that simply handing people money and letting them decide what to do with it, is usually a more impactful poverty alleviation option. Experiments find that people are far less wasteful with that money than you might think, using it almost entirely on food, health, and education.

    This evidence has buoyed the movement for a taxpayer-funded universal basic income (UBI)—an amount of money that would ensure every person can purchase their basic needs. It has also led the US Agency for International Development to benchmark many of their programs against a cash transfer that costs the same amount as the intervention. While giving people cash isn’t a panacea to all the world’s problems, unlike many more complex programs, it is clearly effective at giving people a boost.

    But for all the good giving people money has done, there is research that suggests there might be an even better way to give that cash away. Instead of giving money to just any anybody, governments and philanthropists can give it to entrepreneurs who have ideas for creating or expanding a business, but don’t have access to financing. When their businesses succeeded, they create jobs that allow people to provide for themselves, and governments to spend less on direct welfare. That was the big idea behind YouWin.

    Nigeria Wins
    All sort of companies emerged from YouWin. Almost 30% were manufacturing companies, 15% were agricultural and another 15% were in information technology. A number of education startups also won grants, including several private schools, as well as a company that made educational comic books.

    The World Bank conducted an impact analysis on the first phase of the program,, in which 1,2000 entrepreneurs out of 24,000 applicants were awarded $50,000. Of the the 2,500 finalists in first phase, the 480 best business plans were selected based on the assessments  of independent judges from the audit and consulting company PricewaterHouseCoopers and Nigeria’s Enterprise Development Center. Among the other 1,920 top-rated plans, 720 were chosen at random for grants.

    To see whether the grant made any difference, the World Bank would compared those 720 randomly-selected winners to the 1,200 finalists that received nothing.

    YouWin seems to have been an astonishing success. Based on follow-up surveys three and six years after the program, a study by the World Bank economist David McKenzie, published in the American Economic Review (paywall), found that grant winners were far more likely to have businesses with over 10 employees, and that their businesses were both more innovative and profitable than businesses created by those who weren’t selected. In other words, that $50,000 grant made a huge difference—not just to the entrepreneurs, but to the people they hired.

    McKenzie estimates that program generated a little over 7,000 new jobs, costing the government about $8,500 per job. This is an excellent return on investment compared to other job-creation programs, which typically cost between $11,000 to $80,000 per job, according to McKenzie’s research. These other programs include business training, wage subsidies, and smaller grants (pdf). The result is so impressive that the development economist Chris Blattman wondered on his blog if this was the “most effective development program in history.“

    Unfortunately, politics doomed YouWin’s future. In 2015, then-president Goodluck Jonathan lost an election to Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan was a major proponent of YouWin, and Buhari was not interested in extending a program he wouldn’t get credit for. Rather than conducting more business plan competitions, YouWin has been reorganized into an education program for entrepreneurs, not just those who won the competition. There is little evidence that such capacity building programs work.

    Business-plan fever
    Though YouWin may be essentially dead, the program’s results didn’t go unnoticed. It’s caught the interest of both development economists and leaders across Africa facing youth unemployment issues. And YouWin’s results are not an aberration. Although the Nigerian competition is the most powerful evidence in favor of the business-plan competition, another smaller study of a competition held in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia also had promising results.

    Several countries across the continent have since held, or are going to hold, competitions for entrepreneurs. The biggest of these competitions is set to be held in 2019 in Kenya. Over $20 million will be disbursed to Kenyan entrepreneurs. The program will be primarily funded by the World Bank.

    Kenya’s competition shares many similarities with YouWin. Quartz spoke with Joseph Kanyi, an entrepreneurship specialist in Kenya’s department of trade who helped get the program off the ground. He said the evidence of YouWin’s success was an essential factor in gaining support from the World Bank and Kenya’s government to implement the program. Through the Kenyan competition, researchers hope to learn even more about what makes these programs effective. For the Kenyan program, 250 applicants will have their business plan randomly selected with only the most minimal screening and no additional support. (In the Nigerian competition, by contrast, once applicants passed the first threshold, they  got help developing their business plans.)

    If these unscreened Kenya applicants are successful, it would demonstrate that business-plan competitions might work with little administrative cost. The Kenyan competition will also be testing the impact of grants of $9,000 and $36,000. If smaller grants work nearly as well as big ones, that could also make the program less costly.

    All of these tests are being done with the intention of making future business competitions, in Kenya and elsewhere, more efficient.

    The economics
    The most interesting aspect of these programs is that they suggest that there are a lot of good ideas out there that are not getting financed. Economic theory holds that people with good ideas should be able to get the money to make it happen. Banks and investors exist to make loans and get equity to promising businesses.

    In the US and other rich countries, the financial system generally works well at funneling financing to people with sound business plans. But in many African countries, that isn’t the case. World Bank economist Francisco Camarate de Campos notes that African entrepreneurs often face serious capital constraints because the financial sector isn’t large and sophisticated enough to identify the best loan candidates.

    https://qz.com/africa/1327833/kenya-is-following-nigeria-in-running-a-massive-business-plan-competition/

    10
    Startup / Look for Mission, Culture and Growth in Your Next Startup
    « on: September 25, 2018, 01:19:25 PM »
    Look for Mission, Culture and Growth in Your Next Startup

    New startups are popping up everywhere. Bloomberg suggests private technology companies and VC investment is already 28% higher this year. These new companies are doing incredible things, in everything from blockchain to fashion.

    Whether you’re looking to launch your career or take it to the next level, finding the right position at a startup can be incredibly exciting and rewarding. But, it’s important to not get distracted by the hype around disruption and perks.

    Before you join a startup, assess its culture, mission and plans for growth:

    1. Find a startup that’s mission driven. Understand the long-term mission of the company. Beyond the cool product or fancy announcements, determine if the company has clear goals in five, or even ten years. Next, make sure the company is connecting its mission with its end game. This will help you gauge the startup’s long-term viability and ensure you’re a culture fit. If you find an inspiring startup with a bold, audacious mission and a clear path to achieve that mission, it likely means that you’ll be working with like-minded, passionate people who are building a company for the future.

    2. Learn how they spell culture. Culture is not always easy to evaluate. Many startups will tout theirs as amazing, but you need to look deeper. Culture is the foundation of any business. It’s important that startups map out tenets of culture and truly believe that these concepts are central to building for their future. One way to test this is to check if people who you interview with can easily characterize company culture. Do they talk about it in the same way? Does it seem important to people at all levels? If so, you’re a step closer to understanding if the company has a strong sense of culture and if it’s the right culture for you.

    3. Uncover avenues for professional growth. Many new startups don’t invest resources in opportunities for professional development. This makes it difficult when they scale quickly because leaders aren’t properly trained to assume their expanding role. The number one reason why people leave an organization is because they don’t feel they have strong mentorship by their direct manager. Attrition can be greatly reduced if startups help train their people to be strong mentors from the very beginning. With this in mind, it’s important you ask questions about how a startup invests in the development of its people. You want to look for a place where you can learn not just your day-to-day job, but where you’re challenged and provided the right training to take on new responsibilities. This is a sign that your leaders are also receiving training as well. It’s a way to ensure the company is shaping leaders who can adapt to the changing demands of the business. It’s a way to ensure that your leaders don’t just care about their own future, but yours as well.

    As you assess your options and market yourself to different startups, don’t forget to look past the shiny lettering and bright lights. You need to make sure that wherever you end up is a culture fit with structure growth opportunity. Ask questions and do your research, and I promise you’ll be able to find the right startup to move forward in your career.

    Source- https://goo.gl/dD9MRg

    11
    Newspaper / Funding Opportunity of BVCL
    « on: April 04, 2018, 01:43:25 PM »
    Take your business into the next level

    Funding Opportunity

    Amazing Opportunity to grow your business with Bangladesh Venture Capital Limited


    Bangladesh Venture Capital Ltd is looking for scalable business for investment. If you want to scale up existing startup business, expand business or want to start a new innovative business, please submit your business proposal considering following points

    1. What makes your investment proposal an attractive investment opportunity?
    2. How much money is needed, and how will it be used?
    3. What will be the return on investment (ROI) and when?

    Criteria:
    1. Business has to be located in Bangladesh
    2. Experienced management team
    3. Working prototype and final products
    4. Established revenue model
    5. Rapid growth potential
    6. Good financial and operational structure
    7. No financial liability with the Bank
    8. Solid business experiences

    Priority Sectors:
    1. ICT
    2. Agri tech
    3. Tourism & Lifestyle
    4. Health and Services
    5. Education
    6. Fintech

    Deadline: April 30, 2018

    Apply online: https://goo.gl/P5nv3r

    Contact Address:
    Bangladesh Venture Capital Ltd.
    Daffodil Business Incubator Building, Level-04
    105, Shukrabad, Mirpur Road, Dhaka-1207
    Cell: +8801713-493016, +8801811-458880
    Email : info@venture.com.bd
    Website :Venture.com.bd

    12
    MOU/MOA / Confidentiality Periods in Non-Disclosure Agreements
    « on: March 27, 2018, 05:02:14 PM »
    Confidentiality Periods in Non-Disclosure Agreements


    13
    MOU/MOA / Non-Disclosure Agreement Template (General)
    « on: March 27, 2018, 05:01:13 PM »
    Non-Disclosure Agreement Template (General)


    14
    MOU/MOA / What You Need to Know About Non-Disclosure Agreements
    « on: March 27, 2018, 05:00:05 PM »
    What You Need to Know About Non-Disclosure Agreements


    15
    MOU/MOA / How to Write a Standard NDA
    « on: March 27, 2018, 04:59:22 PM »
    How to Write a Standard NDA


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