The telecom service, in partnership with Startup Dhaka, launched the GP Accelerator program in October 2015, in search of outstanding tech startups in Bangladesh. After the success of the first batch, the program never had to look back and every batch thus far, has discovered teams who are making a statement in the startup scene of Bangladesh.
The startups are selected after reviewing hundreds of applications, face-to-face interviews, and demo presentations to take part in the four-month training program where they are provided with seed funding, work space in GP House, and a set of contacts to scale up their businesses. The program allows the startups to become self-sufficient to run their businesseswhich eventually ensures their success and sustainability.
Here is a brief description of the startups of the fourth batch GP Accelerator and their experiences:
Amar Uddog
Amar Uddog is an ERP solution provider for small and medium businesses that lets them automate their accounts, sales and inventory, making things simpler and easier. At the event, they were able to demonstrate how their business works. Founder and CEO, Aminul Haque said, “This event has given us the opportunity to expand our business and reach out to more people than we ever did before. We are thankful to Grameenphone for being with us on this journey of becoming Entrepreneurs from Developers. ”Mars
Mars is a specialised weather advisory service which provides forecasts to subscribers which are guaranteed to be accurate and promises to see the communities better prepared to withstand natural calamities. At the event, Mars offered free monthly subscriptions of weather forecasts to registered visitors and the response they received from everyone was admirable. Mahbub Ali from the team said, “We think this startup expo should be a regular thing for the Accelerator Programs because the response we received was beyond our expectations.”Avijatrik
Avijatrik is an online tourism platform that works to promote responsible travelling through unique and reasonable tour packages. They provide tour services in collaboration with local community. The platform allows you to stay with the local community, experience new cultures, lifestyles and experience Bangladesh in a new way. They showcased their tour packages and discount offers for visitors at the event. Nazmul, CEO of Avijatrik said, “The biggest takeaway from this event was the exposure we received. People who visited our booth were enthusiastic and trusted us to bring our idea of community tourism into reality.”FoodTong
FoodTong is a platform connecting potential home cooks to customers seeking home cooked meals at affordable pricing. Homemade food is the healthiest option for students and working professionals who struggle with their meals and FoodTong chefs prepare food in the same kitchen they prepare the food for their families and anyone can get the food delivered to their homes online.FoodTong gave a unique chance to the visitors of the expo to taste their food while Mahir, CEO of the startup said, “We are delighted to receive such exposure for the past two days. Many people learnt about our business, liked our idea and fell in love with our food.”Alteryouth
Alteryouth is a C2C platform which provides a platform for donors to give literacy scholarships to government primary schools. At the expo, they connected the visitors and potential donors directly with underprivileged students who need their help. This was a unique example of real-time donations and transparency. Founder and CEO, Asif said, “We are inspired by the love we received because of this event. Our idea has reached new heights because of the exposure we received. We can’t wait to work go back and improve even further.”
