B-Briddhi hosts networking dinner to bolster the impact startup scene /
Biniyog Briddhi, supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and implemented by Roots of Impact and LightCastle Partners, hosted the Impact Startup Ecosystem Networking Dinner on Tuesday, 29 March 2022, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Find out who was there and get some impressions:
Matching “social” with “business” to achieve the perfect balance
The ecosystem networking dinner was off to a great start when Corinne Henchoz Pignani, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, graced the event with her welcome speech. The event was organized to celebrate what the B-Briddhi programme has been able to achieve since its launch in 2020. The event included the local program partners as well as around 70 impact entrepreneurs, investors, and notable ecosystem players who have supported the evolution of the Bangladesh impact enterprise and startup ecosystem.
Impressions:
How to benefit from B-Briddhi’s valuable support
A short panel discussion highlighted the experience of the impact entrepreneurs and accelerators and illustrated how they benefit from the catalytic funding and capacity-building support from Biniyog Briddhi. The following panellists joined the session to share their experiences:
- Saraban Turin, Co-Founder & CEO, Turtle Venture
- Ilmul Haque Sajib, Co-Founder & COO, Sheba Platforms Limited
- Saif Rashid, Co-Founder & CEO, Apon Wellbeing
Saraban Turin, Co-Founder and CEO of Turtle Ventures, participated in both, the Bridge for Billions and the Train-the-Trainer programme in 2021. She illustrated how the programmes add value to the fast-growing accelerator that she is running: “Being part of the program gave us the checklists we needed to give structure to the support we give to startups.”
B-Briddhi also offers different forms of capacity building and financial support to entrepreneurs. Apon Wellbeing was the first ever Social Impact Incentives (SIINC) transaction in Bangladesh. Saif Rashid, Co-Founder and CEO, shared how SIINC boosts their alignment of impact and business goals. “With SIINC, we were able to link impact KPIs with operational objectives and strategies. When we match social and business together, we achieve the perfect balance.”
It was also highly inspiring to listen to entrepreneurs who started off with more business-oriented organizations but found growing importance to incorporate impact into the core of their businesses. Ilmul Haque Sajib, Co-Founder and COO of Sheba Platform, highlighted that behind the high growth trajectory of Sheba there has been a dedication towards creating a positive impact for the micro-SMEs of Bangladesh. “With the support of the Voucher Scheme of Biniyog Briddhi, we now understand better how to monitor and measure that impact.”
To wrap up, the Biniyog Briddhi team was excited to engage with more and more important players in the evolving and increasingly thriving Bangladesh impact ecosystem and to continue pursuing the mission to put impact at the core of decision-making. The event was also the first in-person networking session of the programme due to the pandemic and served to establish valuable connections. As a result, it was a blissful and interactive session with many impact investors and stakeholders that facilitated an ideal environment to share inspiring ventures.
Additional resources:
If you would like to support the Bangladesh impact ecosystem to thrive, too, we have many resources for you to check out on this website. Feel free to browse or follow some of our recommended resources: Biniyog Briddhi Investment Portfolio / Impact Linked Finance Case Study / Innovative Finance Toolkit / Latest News and Events
