ShareTrip, an online travel agency in Bangladesh, has recently introduced a seat selection feature, in which travellers can pick their preferred choice of seats.

Recently, certain locally-based 'free water' startups have been making waves on Facebook. These initiatives promise to provide free, clean drinking water to the general public by integrating ads on the plastic bottles the water would come in. But how do these initiatives work and where is this bottled water coming from? We recently caught up with one of these initiatives, ‘Magna Water’—literally meaning free water—to talk about their plans, goals, and details regarding this project.

What is FreeWater, and how does it operate? Let's take a look at this Texas-based beverage company and how it created a unique business model that is currently inspiring new Bangladeshi startups to adopt something similar. 

The Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) has levied a Tk10 lakh fine on Foodpanda, an online food and grocery delivery platform, for violations of the Competition Act. This decision was made on Monday, following an investigation into allegations of unfair market practices.

A coalition of over 40 founders, investors, engineers, and other tech industry professionals has recently launched a new initiative called 'Tech for Palestine'. The goal of this coalition is to build open-source projects, tools, and data that can aid the tech industry in advocating for the Palestinian people.

Hishab Technologies Limited, a startup focusing on telephony-driven conversational engines powered by generative AI has received an investment of BDT 2 crore from Startup Bangladesh Limited.

Seaqua, a Bangladeshi blue-tech startup, has raised USD six-figure foreign direct investment (FDI) from investors from the Middle East. Founded in 2022, Seaqua is a startup that aims to digitise Bangladesh's fisheries and aquaculture industry.

In 2023, the country's startup sector, known for its agility and forward-thinking approach, has seen remarkable growth and diversification. Here are the biggest startup headlines from 2023:

Startup Bangladesh Limited, the government-backed venture capital firm, has recently invested BDT 1 crore in Alice Labs, an AI-based sales and support platform for online businesses.

OpenAI, the company behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, is planning on raising a new round of funding worth at least $100 billion, as per a recent report by Bloomberg News. 

Internet Society Bangladesh Chapter has elected a new executive committee for the term 2024-25. Mohammad Nadir Bin Ali, Registrar of Daffodil International University, was elected as President; and Md. Baraktul Alam, Head of Operations of Dour Broadband, was elected as General Secretary.

Seven Bangladeshi startups have been named in Holon IQ's 2023 list of top 100 edtech startups in South Asia: 10 Minute School, Apar's, Shikho, and Sohopathi for the 'tutoring and test prep' category; Science Bee and CodersTrust for the 'STEAM' category; and Edutechs in the 'Management Systems' category.

Wind.app, a fintech startup founded by Hussain Elius, former CEO and co-founder of the Bangladeshi ride-sharing platform Pathao, has recently received USD 3.8 million in pre-seed funding. 

Druto Fintech Limited, a Bangladeshi fintech startup, has recently secured USD 1,25,000 in a pre-seed funding round. The investment comes from both local and foreign backers such as Ridwan Hafiz, CEO of GoZayaan, and Razy Shah, co-founder of Singapore's 2Stallions Digital Marketing Agency, as well as other investors. 

Orange Corners, an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, has recently hosted its first-ever Investors Meet, jointly organised by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh and SAJIDA Foundation.

Enterprise Infosec Consultants (EIC), a Bangladeshi cybersecurity service provider, has been selected to participate in the Stanford Seed Transformation Program. According to a press release, the program is recognised for its curriculum and insights sourced from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

ShareTrip, an online travel agency in Bangladesh, has launched a new financial service called ST Pay (ShareTrip Pay). A new round of investment in ShareTrip from Startup Bangladesh was also announced alongside the new feature.

Interactive Cares, a Dhaka-based ed-tech startup, has $100,000 in funding from a seed round in the 9th cohort of Accelerating Asia's accelerator program.

Startup Bangladesh Limited, a government-backed venture capital firm, is set to inject Tk 100 crore into 46 selected startups, aiming to strengthen the country's startup ecosystem. Since its establishment in 2020, the company has actively approved investments totaling Tk 73.50 crore across 28 companies, dispersing Tk 64 crore. These investments span critical sectors such as healthtech, agritech, edtech, logistics, fintech, e-commerce, and renewable energy.

The internationally acclaimed business reality show, Shark Tank, has officially opened the doors to its Bangladeshi adaptation, inviting enterprising individuals from across the nation to participate in its first season.