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020 had started with a grave warrant – the COVID 19 pandemic. Ever-increasing numbers of affected and diseased are everywhere the news.
This pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, from top to bottom. Startups and little businesses are not exceptions. That’s when the COVID accelerator comes into the sport.
Read throughout the article to find out more about it.
What Does An Accelerator Mean?
Simply put, accelerator means something that accelerates. Well, we aren’t talking about science here. Consistent with the Oxford dictionary, a business accelerator is often defined as a program that reinforces up new business ideas and startups.
This program includes mentorship, education, and a demo day where companies are ready to pitch their business ideas to the businessmen. The event invites potential vendors or investors along with some financial partners and customers.
Most accelerator programs last for a short duration compared to incubator ones. It will last for up to three months. These help cohort of startups with the new venture process. Additionally, these usually provide a little amount of seed capital to fund the startups and a possible working space.
By doing so, accelerators aim to assist nascent ventures during the formation or seed stage. Both public or private firms fund these business accelerator programs. The government funds the publicly funded accelerators. These don’t specialize in fields equally.
Rather, they typically specialize in a selected industry – for instance, biotech, fintech, med-tech, and cleantech. On the opposite hand, private entities give funds for privately funded accelerators events. They may take some equity fund or give the money as a debt, to compensate for future risks.
What Is The COVID Accelerator?
Bangladesh’s government has always encouraged new startups. Amidst this disastrous pandemic, the govt launched an occasion for little businesses, called the COVID Accelerator.
Better Stories Limited, LightCastle Partners, and US Market Access Asia have created this event. The COVID-19 tools Accelerator may be a joint initiative to assist Bangladeshi startups and small firms.
It will help those businesses to discover strategies to fight with COVID. It includes legal and moral support, product sale, management, and investment. This is often funded by Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA), under the ICT Division of the state of Bangladesh.
The Objectives Of The Event
Starting up a replacement business is often incredibly difficult. After all, it takes tons quite just an excellent idea. A pocket filled with dreams might not be sufficient to enter into markets and generate success. Emerging entrepreneurs require access to funding, mentoring, and institutional support to succeed.
But those lifelines still seem almost impossible to track down. In a new study reveals-nine out of ten startups shriveling and dying in the following three years. Accelerators are designed to avoid untimely deaths.
It will benefit new startups along with early-stage business and existing companies. They can participate in business accelerators to maximize their product sale, finance, and operation. COVID Accelerator is the solution to assist new startups to rise to the top.
Event Details
This is a new program of ICT division of Bangladesh. On 6th June of 2020, they have launched the main program. The registration was opened on 21st May 2020. The event is hospitable everyone with a thought. Regardless of which stages your idea is, you’ll participate.
The event is segmented into 5 different aspects of starting a replacement startup. These are investment, legal issues, supply chain, crisis management, and starting a startup. The participants can participate in one or more of segments they like. Every session is being persisted online meeting platform.
COVID Accelerator will groom new startups from the start-up to the ultimate pitch day.
You can register here: https://lnkd.in/dfK-uW4
The Facebook event page: https://facebook.com/events/s/covid-accelerator-launch-with-/282969249773043/?ti=cl
The Opening Ceremony
The opening day was on 6th June 2020. It started at 12 p.m. and ended at 2 p.m.
The launch event of COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator was graced by Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, Honorable State Minister of ICT Division, and Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
He inaugurated the event because of the Chief Guest. The secretary & director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA), Ms. Hosnne Ara Begum, was honored as the Special Guest of it.
Other honorable guests were Mr. Shafiqul Islam, Project Director and Joint Secretary, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA), and Maliha Quadir Malek, Founder, Shohoz.com; Rahat Ahmed, Partner, Anchorless Bangladesh; Nirjhor Rahman, CEO, Bangladesh Angels; Barrister Anita Ghazi Islam, Partner of The Legal Circle and lastly Fahim Ahmed, the CFO of Pathao.
First Session
- Topic: Investment: the way to approach investors for investment during a pandemic?
- Time: the primary session of COVID Accelerator was persisted 11th of June 2020 at 12 pm.
- The panelists: For this session,
- The CEO of Bangladesh Angels, Nirjhhor Rahman
- Fahim Ahmed, the CEO of Pathao
- The Founding Partner & CEO of Anchorless Bangladesh, Mr. Rahat Ahmed
- Al Farooque Shubho, the founding father of Zantrik
- Tawhida Shiropa, the founding father of Moner Bodhi
Second Session
- Topic: Crisis Management: the way to create a sustainable business during a pandemic?
- Time: The second session was on 16th June of 2020 at noon.
- The session is going to be moderated by Bijon Islam, CEO, and LightCastle Partners
- The Speakers are:
- Waseem Alim, the Co-founder & CEO, Chaldal.com
- Rubaba Dowla, the President, TiE Dhaka
- Mustafizur Khan, one of the Founding Partner of IDLC VC Fund
- Afeef Zaman, the Co-founder & CEO, ShopUp
- Kishwar Hashemee, the Co-founder & CEO, KLUDIO
Third Session
- Topic: Legal Guidance for Startups: Legal, Moral, and Justified steps to Tackle things.
- Time: it had been on 18th June of 2020 at 12 p.m.
- The speakers: On the 3rd session of COVID Accelerator,
- Barrister Anita Ghazi Rahman, the Founding Partner, the Legal Circle
- Nauriin Ahmed, an Associate, the Legal Circle
- Abrar Hasnine Rifat, an Associate, the Legal Circle
- Shaheen Siam, the CEO of ShopUp
- Khobaib Chowdhury, the CEO of Styline
Fourth Session
Topic: Continuity Planning- Work on pivoting your business during this crisis. Be a neighborhood of an insightful discussion of Pathao led COVID Accelerator: Business. While that specialize in the expansion of business amidst the crisis, you must bring the proper product, following a focused vision and effective strategy, to the proper customer within the right time. Want to understand more about it?
- Time: On 23rd June of 2020 at 12 p.m.
- The panelists:
- Hussain Elius, the Co-Founder & CEO of Pathao
- Ahmed Fahad the vice-chairman & Head of Product of Pathao
- Fahim Ahmed, the CFO of Pathao
- The Storytelling session: it had been being facilitated by Anayet Rashid, the Founder & CEO, TruckLagbe, Fayaz Taher, the Co-Founder & CEO of Bongo, and Shehzad Noor Taus, the Co-Founder & CEO of Gaze.
Fifth Session
- Topic: the way to start a replacement startup
- Time: Not yet published
- The speakers: Not yet published
The Final Results
As the COVID accelerator remains running, the ultimate results yet not published. Up to the present day, four sessions of this program are held. These sessions focused on a selected topic of a startup.
Each session was two hours long. The primary half of the session is from the speakers. The last half of it was for an interactive question and answer session.
About The Organizers
COVID Accelerator is a joint event of 4 main institutions. These are BetterStories Limited, Light Castle Partners, USA Market Access Asia, and Bangladesh Hi Tech Park Authority. We’ll discuss them within the following:
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BetterStories Limited:
BetterStories may be a future-building agency. It works within the areas of new technology, Strategy Consulting, and Ecosystem Building. Its three verticals: Better Strategies, Better Entrepreneurs, and Better Schools.
A businesswoman along with a development specialist and an environmentalist made BetterStories in 2008. Their goal was to follow an ambitious aim of making a new generation of leaders for Bangladesh through leadership.
The BetterStories vision is to make a minimum of 1000 leaders by 2021 through Green, Ethical and Responsible Businesses (GERB).
BetterStories firmly believes within the potential of Bangladesh becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2021 and a complicated economy by 2041. They have supported 437 entrepreneurial leaders until 31 December 2019.
BetterStories may be an Ltd. established in 2009, we were the primary private business incubator in Bangladesh with $625,000 invested within the incubator.
To know more: www.betterstories.com
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Light Castle Partners:
Light Castle Partners has a goal to make a knowledge-driven economy which inspires businesses and lives. Their entrepreneurial journey started back in 2013 with an easy vision: to inspire businesses in Bangladesh to advance the economy.
Between then and now, they’ve striven to make an impression in 400+ organizations across 40+ industries.
They deliver on our promise for SMEs and startups through our accelerator and investment unit. The recipe is simple: adopt lean startup principles, run a classroom and experiential sessions, expand networks, and facilitate capital.
While their present focus lies in agriculture and technology, going forward, they’re going to aim to maximize growth opportunities across other promising verticals, too.
For contact:
Address: Level 5, House 10/12, Road 1, Block B, Niketan, Gulshan 1, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Email: info@lightcastlebd.com
Phone Number: +88 02 5881 6311, +88 01747 353438, +880 1711 385988
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Bangladesh Hi Tech Park Authority (BHTPA):
Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority (BHTPA) may be an agency in Bangladesh. It dedicated to determine, manage, and operate technology business parks throughout the country.
It was established in 2010. The BHTPA is now implementing the projects including the Kaliakoir Hi-tech Park in Gazipur District and Jessore Software Technology Park. Their planned projects are the following:
- Mohakhalili IT Village in Dhaka
- Barendra Silicon City in Rajshahi District
- Sylhet Electronic City in Companiganj Upazila, Sylhet
To know more: www.bhtpa.gov.bd
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USA Market Access Asia (USMac):
US Market Access Center Inc. aka the USMac, gives international tech companies. With fast and successful access to the US and global markets and also Silicon Valley, it works for rapid market growth.
Their motto are the following:
- Think Big – Stop thinking sort of a local player and implement global plans, from the very first day.
- Starts Smart – attempt to test your business model and strategy before you invest during a presence and team in another market.
- Scale Fast – Once you’ve got proven your business model and sales strategy works, raise the maximum amount of capital as possible and scale globally as fast as others.
For contacts:
Mailing Address: US Market Access Center, Spaces Menlo Park, 101 Jefferson Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone Number: +1 (415) 462 4633
Email: info@usmarketaccess.com
Website: www.usmarketaccess.com
Why We’d Like These Events?
The COVID 19 has led people to struggle and despair. However, we all can recover and are available out strong from this challenging time. Companies are strengthening their sustainability through collaborations. It’s time for brand spanking new innovation!
Reverse innovation describes the method during which highly developed countries within the “Triad” region — that’s, North America, Western Europe, and Japan — borrow innovations from relatively less developed or less wealthy countries outside the bloc.
Within the fight against Covid-19, as an example, the U.S. could also be ready to borrow relatively simple innovations from Asia and Africa in areas like testing, contact tracing, or quarantining.
Covid-19 is going to be around for a short time, with flare-ups likely because the U.S. economy reopens and flu season arrives. Moreover, there’ll surely be other pandemics within the future. Learning from other counties, including developing nations, should be a crucial part of the U.S. strategy.
In order to sustain during this crisis, we usually tend to forget the proper technique to follow. We must plan on maintaining the liquidity of our company during this crisis.
A crisis just can’t be the rationale of loss in business. There are many various ways through which we will defeat this example and prosper more.
The Final Thoughts
The access to COVID-19 tools (ACT) accelerator is a new thing and COVID accelerator is going to be the exemplar for brand spanking new businesses coming within the future. During this certain moment, these sorts of programs will bring the simplest out of the people. We hope to ascertain similar events in the future.