Grameenphone has onboarded Batch 7 of its startup development initiative GP Accelerator (GPA) to equip the startups to secure international funds.
This year the GP Accelerator curriculum has been designed to emphasise growth, going global and business expansion with three investment partners – IDLC, Anchorless, Bangladesh Angel Network – to equip the startups to secure international funds.
A virtual event was held Thursday to launch the programme where Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar was present as the chief guest.
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Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman and distinguished guests from the startup ecosystem, media, mentors, and investors were also present.
The GPA platform will continue to provide investment readiness support such as company valuation, fundraising, legal paperwork for expanding beyond borders and attracting investment to ensure ten times growth for startups through a six-month bootcamp.
The programme aims to explore business expansion opportunities through business incorporation to the global market from Bangladesh.
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"It is very optimistic to witness so many diversely talented minds putting their best to come up with something different. This is the spirit that we need to carry Bangladesh forward in a digitally enabled era," said Mustafa Jabbar.
Yasir Azman said: "Grameenphone believes in taking a youth-first approach, instilling digital entrepreneurship mindset, enabling them to think global, upskilling and reskilling them with industry-first initiatives like such to enable and unleash the potential of the demographic dividend into future drivers of economic progress."
In 2021, a partnership deal had been signed between Grameenphone and the three pioneering startup ecosystems shapers of Bangladesh – BetterStories, LightCastle Partners, and Upskill – to deliver the GPA programme that supports the "global-first" Bangladeshi startups born through Covid-19.
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Since its inception in 2015, the GPA programme has worked closely with promising local startups, developers, and innovators to facilitate strategic and infrastructural resources.
This year, the startups which will be groomed under the GPA's 7th cohort are Airwrk, an invite-only global talent marketplace for Bangladeshi software developers with integrated payment systems, competitive pricing, and shorter payment cycles; Gameof11, a fantasy gaming platform where one can demonstrate their sports knowledge to win daily prizes; iPage, a startup democratising value-added data to the farmers and FMCGs for a higher return using machine learning, data science, and AI; Lilac, a holistic digital wellness platform for women's health and hygiene; One thread, a project management solution that helps to manage tasks, store files, check progress and communicate in the simplest and most affordable way and On now, an internet restaurant platform that aims to empower over 600,000 SME restaurants in emerging markets to survive against tough competition from large restaurant chains by giving them access to their proprietary and popular virtual menu concepts, training, supply chain and technology.
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The GPA has completed six cohorts with 44 startups, creating 5 lakh jobs across the nation.