Press Release

Bangladesh Angels Announces Launch, Opening a New Era in Start-up Investing

in Bangladesh

From left to right: Samad Miraly, Sanchayan Chakraborty, Minhaz Anwar, Jayesh Parekh, Naima Chowdhury,
Tina Jabeen, Akkie Okma, H.E. Harry Verweij, Kazi M. Aminul Islam, Sajid Rahman, Maliha Quadir, Tanveer Ali
and Nazmul Karim

[Dhaka, Bangladesh] - Bangladesh Angels, a pioneering angel investment network in the country, was
inaugurated at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden on 4th October, 2018. In attendance were angel investors,
venture capitalists, financiers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders from both Bangladesh and abroad. H.E.
Harry Verweij, the Ambassador-Designate of Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Mr. Kazi M. Aminul Islam,
Executive Director, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, delivered remarks as Special Guest and
Chief Guest respectively.

Bangladesh Angels is targeting to play a critical role in the startup funding ecosystem by connecting angel
investors who desire to make investments in early stage businesses with promising early stage entrepreneurs.
The network will identify such enterprises, support them in seeking funding, provide transactional support to
angels and enable mentorship and monitoring, besides evangelizing startup funding, organizing knowledge
forums and enabling exchange programs with international angel networks.

The Bangladesh startup ecosystem has gained significant traction recently with a number of incubators,
accelerators as well as venture capital and private equity firms. “These are critical developments in the path
towards becoming a middle-income country, complementing the long-standing tradition of enterprise and
entrepreneurialism of the private sector in Bangladesh,” according to H.E. Harry Verweij, who delivered the
opening remarks. “Unfortunately many of these entrepreneurs struggle to make themselves bankable because
of a lack of business know-how and ability to get finance. Organized platforms like [Bangladesh Angels] are
critical” in enabling wider participation of both investors and entrepreneurs to jumpstart entrepreneurial
activity, he said. He continued that the Netherlands Embassy is “proud to support this initiative, which is being
backed by Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF).” DGGF is a program of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
which facilitates development-oriented trade and investment, that is backing Bangladesh Angels through its
technical assistance program managed by Aavishkaar Venture Management.

Bangladesh Angels will be an independent Bangladeshi network with a separate legal entity, local team and
governance structure, guided by eminent startup investors and mentors with extensive experience building
the start-up ecosystem in the country. The governing board includes eminent stakeholders such as Minhaz
Anwar (CEO, Betterstories), Samad Miraly (Cofounder, Startup Dhaka), Tina Jabeen (Investment Advisor,
Startup Bangladesh, ICT Division), Sajid Rahman (CEO, Telenor Health) and Sanchayan Chakraborty (Partner,
Aavishkaar). Guided by the governing board, the network will provide end-to-end investment readiness
support to entrepreneurs, while working with angel investors to identify, negotiate, close and monitor
investments, often through syndication.

“Investments rates into Bangladesh are increasing, and more and more international capital is finding its way
to the country. But for young entrepreneurs, there still remains a critical gap in funding that traditional finance
cannot meet. Angel investing therefore can be an important bridge that not only provides flexible capital but
mentorship to young entrepreneurs as they establish themselves,” said Mr. Kazi M. Aminul Islam, Executive
Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, in his closing remarks.

Prospective angel investors and entrepreneurs can go online to sign up for the network or apply for funding via
www.bdangels.co. The network will have its first closed-door session between vetted start-ups and investors
in January 2019. For further details, interested parties can reach Nirjhor Rahman, CEO, Bangladesh Angels, at
nirjhor.rahman@bdangels.co or +8801706356116.
Opening Remarks by H.E. Harry Verweij, Ambassador-Designate, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Chief Guest Mr. Kazi M. Aminul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority,
with Mr. Minhaz Anwar, CEO, BetterStories and Member of the Bangladesh Angels Governing Board