Over 200 individuals in Dhaka submitted their business plans in September hoping to be selected to the final round of the Dhaka Start-Up Competition. Yesterday at the University of Dhaka, the final six teams pitched their start-ups to a panel of local and international judges at Harmony Venture's Inaugural Dhaka Start-up Competition. The competition was aimed to provide young entrepreneurs with mentorship, resources and funding to develop their social enterprises in Bangladesh. Harmony Ventures' founder, Yassamin Issapour, stated: "Through sustainable development goals and this endeavor, we hope to create a change that encourages creativity and innovation in the pursuit of inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth and development." Humayan Kabir and Abdul Mannan of MyDoctor (a micro-insurance program that receives garbage in return for paying for the community's clinical care) received the top prize - the MVision Innovation Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Tonmoy Paul, Syef Ferdaus, Mohammad Mohi Uddin Bhuiyan and Suvro Emmanuel Rozario of DiaSmash (an affordable drink to regulate blood glucose levels for diabetics, in a market that usually requires expensive medical consultations) were the runners-up. Judges included Minhaj Chowdhury (co-founder and chief executive officer of Drinkwell), Ladan Manteghi (executive director of Georgetown Social Enterprise Initiative), Ava Mulla (co-founder and chief executive officer of Building Pioneers), Dr Michael Steckler (The Earth Institute at Columbia University), Matthew Winters (sustainable development consultant), and Yassamin Issapour (founder of Harmony Ventures). Harmony Ventures' event partners included MVision Private Equity Advisers, BetterStories Limited, Bikroy.com, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Columbia Alumni Association of Bangladesh.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
