2 startups get Tk1cr at Bangabandhu Innovation Grant

The third annual edition of Bangabandhu Innovation Grant, a govt-funded technology innovation contest, ended Saturday with the distribution of Tk7 crore awards among this year's top 51 startups.

Two start-ups - "Fabrik Lagabe" and "Markopolo.ai" - secured the first position and jointly grabbed Tk1 crore grant at the grand finale held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital. The remaining 50 startups got Tk10 lakh each to upscale their innovative works, after having edged past nearly seven thousand startups selected in the initial round from across the country.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Prime Minister's Private Industries and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, ICT Division Secretary Md Shamsul Arefin, Bangladesh Computer Council Executive Director Ranajit Kumar and Startup Bangladesh Ltd Managing Director Sami Ahmed were present at the grand finale among others.

The top-scoring startup Robotry Bangladesh's Founder Saifuddin Munna said he established the robotics education company amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The startup works to help teach school and college students about robotics in an enjoyable way. The company's robotics teaching kits have already got huge response in the market and its training modules are reaching almost every school-going child, claims Saifuddin.