The Ministry of Commerce is set to work together with Venture Capital and Private Equity Association of Bangladesh (VCPEAB) to promote funding for start-ups.

State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu has assured all-out support from the ministry during a courtesy call by a five-member VCPEAB delegation, led by its President Shameem Ahsan, at the secretariat in the capital recently.

During the meeting, VCPEAB proposed collaboration between Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Business Promotion Council (BPC) for organising international seminars, entrepreneur-investor matchmaking to help boost exports and attract foreign investment.

BPC Chief Executive Officer Nahid Afroz, VCPEAB Senior Vice President Zia Uddin Ahmed, Vice-Presidents Asif Mahmood, Shafique-Ul-Azam and Director Shawkat Hossain were also present in the discussion.

The junior minister said that the ministry will provide direction to EPB and BPC for extending support to VC firms to attract more global investment.

“The start-ups they invest in can promote their businesses in various countries,” he said.

Shameem Ahsan laid emphasis on ‘strategic initiatives’ to foster the growth of Bangladesh’s venture capital, private equity, and start-up ecosystem.

“Our efforts focus on capacity building, international partnerships, and expert consultation, aiming to boost economic growth by enhancing start-ups’ contributions to exports and job creation. Together, we can pave a prosperous path for Bangladeshi venture capital, start-ups and SMEs,” he said.

VCPEAB works to strengthen the local start-ups and VC firms and help them become much more visible and dominant to compete in global challenges and competition.