Orange Corners Bangladesh recently convened industry leaders, investors, and corporate stakeholders at the ‘Orange Corners: Strengthening Early-Stage Entrepreneurship through Industry Engagement’ event hosted by SAJIDA Foundation and BYLC Ventures.
The event took place at the Renaissance Dhaka-Gulshan Hotel.
The Orange Corners program in Bangladesh is divided into three phases: Pre-Incubation, Incubation, and Post-Incubation. The Pre-Incubation phase engages Bangladeshi youth to participate in solving local challenges and is designed to raise awareness of entrepreneurship among students.
The Incubation phase is designed to attract, select, and train early-stage entrepreneurs through intense capacity-building and mentorship sessions for 6 months.
Finally, the Post-Incubation phase is designed to enable the top graduates of the Incubator program to become eligible for grants and soft loans up to 50,000 euros, along with business development support, and to take their enterprises to the next level so that they can raise funding from VCs and other investors.
The event featured 8 young entrepreneurs who have gone through the incubation phase.
The event started with keynote addresses from the SAJIDA Foundation, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC), and YY Ventures, highlighting the importance of industry partnerships in fostering a thriving early-stage entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Then, it included a panel discussion titled ‘Guiding Growth: How the Private Sector Can Support Early-Stage Entrepreneurs’ featuring industry leaders Shamima Akhter, Director – Corporate Affairs, Partnerships & Communications, Unilever Bangladesh; Syeda Afzalun Nessa, Head of Sustainability, HSBC; Sami Ahmed, MD & CEO, Startup Bangladesh Limited; Waiz Rahim, Board Advisor, Rahimafrooz, Venture Partner, Sturgeon Capital; Mirza Salman Hossain Beg, Founder, EnduringX.
“We know about age-old businesses, but we know the world is changing faster, so we need new ideas which will create impact and lead the future Bangladesh,” said Shamima Akhter in the discussion as to why Unilever supports young entrepreneurs.
The event then featured “Impact Marketplace and Networking,” where higher-ups from MNCs connected with the 8 young entrepreneurs and learned about their services.
The 8 entrepreneurships were DeliveryHobe, BriqUp, FarmHouse BD, GramShop, Polka Flex, Tutor Provide Technologies Limited, AquaLink, and Purno.
DeliveryHobe is a 24/7 emergency delivery service; people only need to send a WhatsApp text for the service. With 500K+ orders, 200K+ customers, and $1.3M+ in sales for local shops in Dhaka, they are rapidly expanding nationwide.
On the other hand, ‘BriqUp’ turns coconut shell waste into high-efficiency briquettes that are affordable, low-smoke, and a sustainable alternative to charcoal. They make it within 2-3 days. Their solution helps businesses cut costs while reducing deforestation and pollution.
FarmHouse BD helps businesses turn unused rooftops into productive, sustainable forms, reducing costs and enhancing green spaces. With 13K+ plants delivered and 8,700 customers served, they are now rapidly expanding.
GramShop connects rural and urban communities in Bangladesh by easily delivering rural products to urban people through a digital marketplace. With 72 Local Points and 22 Retail Points, it ensures “fair pricing for farmers” and a “smooth shopping experience for customers,” as the company says.
Aiming at the “stop using plastic” motto, Polka Flex provides eco-friendly, non-plastic sign banners that decompose naturally, helping businesses reduce plastic waste. With 30+ partnerships as of now, they are offering a sustainable solution to replace traditional signage.
Tutor Provide Technologies Limited connects teachers and guardians with their digital platform, whereas Purno offers an all-in-one POS solution for SMEs. It simplifies sales and accepts cash, MFS, and card payments while automating bookkeeping for free.
