Empowering Impact Startups

Bangladesh's startup landscape tells a story of ambition meeting reality, where young entrepreneurs navigate between promising opportunities and formidable obstacles. The Pitch | Propel | Prosper Startup Showcase, jointly organised by SustainLaunch Labs and Experts Academy Limited, brought this narrative into sharp focus through its expert panel discussion titled ‘Empowering Impact Startups: Bridging Gaps to Build a Thriving Innovation Ecosystem’. The panel discussion took place at a hotel in Dhaka recently. Their collective insights painted a comprehensive picture of Bangladesh's current startup ecosystem whilst outlining practical pathways for strengthening its foundations.

Structural weaknesses and systemic challenges: The conversation began with a sobering statistic: nearly 90 per cent of startups in Bangladesh struggle to sustain operations beyond three to five years. This reality stems not from individual failures alone, but from profound structural and systemic deficiencies that permeate the entrepreneurial landscape. The panellists identified Bangladesh's minimal investment in education, less than 3.0 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product), as a fundamental barrier. This underinvestment creates skill gaps and produces a workforce often unprepared for modern entrepreneurship demands. The consequences ripple through the startup ecosystem, limiting the pool of talent equipped with critical thinking and technical expertise. Bangladesh's broader startup ecosystem remains in its formative stages. Angel investment networks, venture capital availability, and university-based innovation hubs have emerged relatively recently, primarily within the last decade. Whilst these developments show promise, they have not yet reached sufficient maturity to provide consistent support for emerging ventures. Political instability and regulatory uncertainty compound these challenges, creating an environment that often deters both local and foreign investors. Despite these obstacles, the panel recognised that Bangladesh possesses considerable talent and ambition. The development of robust ecosystems is inherently a gradual process requiring decades rather than years for full maturation.

Redefining impact startups: The discussion explored the concept of impact startups, particularly in health technology and climate innovation. Panellists suggested that the distinction between ‘startups’ and ‘impact startups’ was somewhat artificial, arguing that all successful ventures inherently generate social and economic impact. Local examples such as bKash, Pathao, and Brain Station 23 were recognised as transformative enterprises that have created substantial societal value, even if they do not align perfectly with global narratives of ‘impact-driven’ companies.

These success stories demonstrate Bangladesh's capacity for innovation whilst highlighting the potential for locally-developed solutions to address regional challenges. However, the panel acknowledged that Bangladesh still lacks visible success stories in critical areas such as climate adaptation and green technology. They argued that impact-driven enterprises cannot thrive without rigorous market research, product-market fit, and sustained user testing. Too often, young founders focus on fundraising before validating their products, undermining long-term growth prospects.

The development sector's contribution: Development organisations have emerged as vital contributors to the startup ecosystem, particularly for ventures operating in rural or climate-sensitive areas. Organisations including iDE Bangladesh, Oxfam, and ActionAid have been recognised for enabling startups to utilise their grassroots beneficiary networks for large-scale product testing.

This access to users, which would typically be prohibitively expensive for early-stage ventures, represents a crucial contribution to ecosystem development.Training programmes focusing on design thinking, innovation processes, and value chain analysis were highlighted as equally important. Without structured incubation and effective prototyping capabilities, many founders become frustrated within two or three years of operation. Initiatives such as the SDG Success Labs and Restoration Factory serve as examples of structured programmes that provide green enterprises with essential technical, operational, and financial knowledge required for sustainable growth.The panel also addressed the lack of adequate research and development facilities. Questions arose regarding why multinational corporations operating in Bangladesh were not investing in local innovation labs. Too many startups are left to develop products under constrained conditions, often improvising with limited equipment and materials. Greater collaboration between the private sector, universities, and development agencies was urged to address this gap.

Educational reform and cultural transformation: A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the inadequacy of Bangladesh's education system in fostering curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving qualities fundamental to entrepreneurship. For decades, schools and universities have prioritised rote learning and examination performance, often discouraging students from questioning established norms or exploring innovative solutions.This educational approach creates an abrupt and poorly supported transition from conventional career paths to entrepreneurship.

The panel contrasted this with neighbouring India, which serves as an example of how long-term educational vision can foster an environment conducive to innovation. Institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management, established in the mid-20th century, have cultivated generations of entrepreneurial talent.In Bangladesh, the creation of university-based innovation labs was seen as progress. However, panellists emphasised that these labs must evolve beyond symbolic infrastructure to become genuine centres of curiosity and experimentation. Without cultural acceptance of entrepreneurship as a legitimate career path, young innovators will continue facing social resistance.

Legal framework and intellectual property challenges: The conversation addressed significant legal challenges faced by startups, particularly regarding intellectual property rights. Whilst laws governing patents, trademarks, and copyrights exist in Bangladesh, implementation and enforcement remain weak. Regulatory bodies are often ill-equipped to process patent applications efficiently, leaving innovators vulnerable to imitation and intellectual property theft. Without reliable intellectual property protection, startups are discouraged from investing in novel ideas or breakthrough innovations. Moreover, awareness of intellectual property rights among founders was considered insufficient. Many young entrepreneurs lack understanding of the differences between patents, industrial design, and copyright, or the procedures required to secure protection.Bangladesh's absence as a signatory to major international treaties on intellectual property further limits global recognition of local innovations. Until both awareness and enforcement improve, Bangladeshi startups will remain disadvantaged in protecting their intellectual assets and competing on international markets.

Financing gaps and investment challenges: The panel examined the funding landscape, highlighting significant misalignment between startup expectations and investor requirements. Many early-stage founders anticipate equity funding during the ideation phase, despite lacking validated products or demonstrated traction. Conversely, investors often demand disproportionately high equity stakes in exchange for relatively modest capital amounts, reflecting both risk perceptions and the immaturity of the local venture capital market. Pre-seed and seed-stage funding requires different mechanisms, including grants, soft loans, and patient capital, rather than conventional equity investment. Development agencies were identified as playing a bridging role by supporting early validation whilst connecting promising ventures to private investors at later stages.The need for stronger university innovation hubs, better coordination among development programmes, and increased private sector investment in innovation infrastructure was reiterated throughout the discussion. Without such alignment, the cycle of underprepared startups and hesitant investors is likely to persist.

Building a sustainable future: The panel discussion provided a comprehensive evaluation of Bangladesh's startup ecosystem, identifying education gaps, insufficient infrastructure, weak legal enforcement, and limited financing opportunities as pressing barriers. Yet the session also conveyed measured optimism: Bangladesh possesses a young, ambitious population, a growing support network of NGOs and accelerators, and increasing recognition of the need for structured innovation.The path forward requires patience, coordination, and sustained investment across education, legal systems, finance, and private sector collaboration. With these foundations strengthened, impact startups in health, climate, and social innovation could emerge as powerful drivers of sustainable development, not only in Bangladesh but across the region.The distinguished panel included Tasnua Shelley, head of chambers, Justicia Legal Minds, Asif U Ahmed, director of Graduate Business Program, ULAB, Shahana Sharmin, project manager, International Development Enterprises, Ashfaque Kabir, private sector coordinator, GAIN, Hosna Ferdous Sumi, senior private sector specialist, The World Bank. Dr Chowdhury Mohammad Wasiuddin, managing director, Experts Academy Limited was one of the judges during the pitching segment of the event. The discussion was moderated by Fahim Shahriar, CEO & co-founder of SustainLaunch Labs. The event was graced by Lt. Gen. (retd) Abdul Hafiz, special assistant to the chief adviser of the interim government, as the chief guest, and Nicolas Weeks, ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh, as the guest of honour.

The writer is the CEO & co-founder of SustainLaunch Labs.

fahim.shahriar@sustainlaunchlabs.com