Orange Corners Bangladesh recently convened industry leaders, investors, and corporate stakeholders at the ‘Orange Corners: Strengthening Early-Stage Entrepreneurship through Industry Engagement’ event hosted by SAJIDA Foundation and BYLC Ventures. The event aimed to foster collaboration, provide market insights, and explore the private sector’s role in accelerating Bangladesh’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Representatives from leading financial institutions, corporations, development organizations, consumer goods, retail & hospitality, industry, infrastructure & agri-businesses attended the event.
Building Bridges Between Early-Stage Entrepreneurs and Industry
The event was structured to facilitate direct engagement between early-stage businesses and key industry stakeholders. Keynote addresses from SAJIDA Foundation, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC), and YY Ventures set the stage, highlighting the importance of industry partnerships in fostering a thriving early-stage entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The event included a panel discussion titled ‘Guiding Growth: How the Private Sector Can Support Early Stage Entrepreneurs’ featuring industry leaders Shamima Akhter, Director – Corporate Affairs, Partnerships & Communications, Unilever Bangladesh; Syeda Afzalun Nessa, Head of Sustainability, HSBC; Sami Ahmed, MD & CEO, Startup Bangladesh Limited; Waiz Rahim, Board Advisor, Rahimafrooz, Venture Partner, Sturgeon Capital; Mirza Salman Hossain Beg, Founder, EnduringX.
Panelists shared insights on how corporate engagement can bridge gaps in mentorship, technical support, and funding for emerging businesses. Discussions centered on practical mechanisms for industry collaboration, including supply chain integration, funding opportunities, and policy advocacy, to drive sustainable growth.
The event also featured an Impact Marketplace, where entrepreneurs from Orange Corners Bangladesh’s third cohort showcased their ventures in agritech, sustainability, IoT, and logistics. This interactive segment enabled industry stakeholders to engage directly with founders, explore their business models, and identify potential opportunities for collaboration.
Orange Corners Bangladesh: A Platform for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs
Orange Corners Bangladesh, an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, operates across 21 hubs in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, providing young entrepreneurs with training, funding, and industry connections. The Bangladesh hub, launched in 2023, is the first in Asia and is implemented by YY Ventures, BYLC Ventures, and SAJIDA Foundation, with support from Unilever Bangladesh.
Since its inception, Orange Corners Bangladesh has incubated 40 early-stage companies across three cohorts, with 13 more currently progressing in Cohort 4. The programme has awarded over EUR 200,000 in grants and soft loans to support early-stage ventures operating in sectors such as health-tech, edtech, fem-tech, IoT, waste management, energy, climate action, and transport & logistics.
