Bangladesh Start-up Investment Company (BSIC) Tuesday launched its maiden fund titled 'Onkur1' with Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury pledging political non-interference in the operations of the country's financial sector.
"In the operations of the financial and related sectors or appointments in the relevant institutions, the present government headed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is committed to shunning political interference," he says unequivocally.
Speaking at the inauguration as chief guest, the finance minister described the current investment climate as "painful" due to prolonged weaknesses in the banking and financial sectors.
BSIC, a venture-capital company owned by 39 banks, has raised Tk 4.25 billion initially.
"We are going through a painful time for investment. Everyone knows that major problems have arisen in the country's banking sector," he told the ceremony held at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.
"We want to resolve the problems of the banking sector. These are all part of the economy. We will solve them by working together. We have a political commitment to that," he added.
Mr Chowdhury stresses that the government's policy is to allow the financial sector to function independently and professionally.
"We will not have any kind of political interference in the economic sector, including the financial one," he says. "Everything in the banking sector must be done purely professionally."
He also announced major reforms for the capital market and the broader financial sector to improve regulation, transparency, and investor confidence.
"We are going to conduct capital-market reforms. There will be major reforms. We are going for serious regulation in a big way," the minister told the function.
He said the initiative was aligned with the government's broader economic agenda, particularly the "creative economy" programme aimed at generating employment for 10 million people, including in rural areas.
"Our young generation historically faced two major barriers -- access to funds and mortgage requirements," he points out, hoping that BSIC would help remove those hurdles through a transparent and professionally managed financing process.
The platform has been launched by 39 commercial banks with an initial fund of around Tk 4.25 billion, which organisers say could rise to Tk 7 billion by the end of this year through annual contributions equivalent to 1.0 per cent of the participating banks' net profits.
The fund, Onkur Bangladesh Fund 1, will focus on seed, late-seed, and Series A-stage startups.
The minister mentions that the government is also working with international institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank, and JPMorgan Chase, to stabilise the banking sector and improve the investment climate.
Md Mostaqur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said the country's next stage of financial development required institutions capable of ensuring innovation, discipline, transparency, and accountability.
"BSIC is an important initiative to channel domestic capital to productive and technology-based entrepreneurs," he told the audience.
The governor acknowledges that a previous Tk 5.0-billion startup fund established by the central bank in 2021 had failed to achieve the desired success, but expresses optimism that the new joint initiative involving commercial banks would be more effective.
He urges BSIC to prioritise projects that could contribute to rural economic development and benefit marginalised communities.
"Our request will be that those projects should have some effect on the rural economy. Developing our rural economy is very urgent at this moment."
The governor also announced that, after June 30, proprietary QR payment systems would no longer be permitted, and all operators would be required to adopt the central bank's unified Bangla QR system to ensure interoperability and support the transition towards a cashless society.
Abdul Hai Sarker, chairman of the Bangladesh Association of Banks, said financing was not the principal challenge in Bangladesh's startup ecosystem. "Money is always there. The challenge is to find the right entrepreneur class who can use the money for the right purpose and benefit the country."
He calls for identifying promising young entrepreneurs and creating mechanisms to attract idle overseas funds into Bangladesh's startup sector, while ensuring proper technical support and governance.
Mashrur Arefin, chairman of BSIC and managing director of City Bank PLC, said the initiative aimed to connect local entrepreneurial ambition with globally recognised venture- capital standards.
"BSIC is not simply a fund. It is an institutional platform designed to connect Bangladesh's entrepreneurial ambition with disciplined, professionally managed capital."
Mr Arefin notes that although Bangladesh's startup ecosystem had attracted more than $1.0 billion through over 450 disclosed deals since 2010, less than 7.0 per cent of that funding originated from domestic sources.
He adds that the platform would eventually expand support beyond technology startups to include small and medium enterprises.
According to the organisers, BSIC plans to complete its first three investments before the end of 2026 and appoint a managing director and chief investment officer in the third quarter of this year.
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