IDLC VC Fund brings international investors to Bangladesh startups
IDLC Venture Capital Fund I invests its Tk 450 million fund corpus to help grow early-stage technology companies in Bangladesh and provide disproportionate returns to its investors.
Registered under the Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission’s Alternative Investment Rules 2015, the fund is the country’s most active local venture capital fund.
Last week, IDLC VC Fund I co-led an investment with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Truck Lagbe, a trucking technology platform in Bangladesh, says a press release.
IDLC VC also facilitated an additional investment from one of its foreign investors, Millville Opportunities, in the round.
This is the second investment in which IDLC, IFC and Millville have worked together to invest in the local startup ecosystem. They previously invested together in Chaldal, a grocery delivery company, which recently raised a $10 million Series C.
Venture capital is a relatively new industry in Bangladesh; however, the IDLC VC Fund has managed to attract investors from both large foreign and local institutions and high net worth individuals, says the press release.
A trusted name combined with a mature team with domain expertise allows the IDLC VC Fund I to inspire confidence with foreign investors and investee companies.
Samad Miraly, partner at IDLC VC Fund I said, “Having professionally managed venture capital locally is important to build the industry. We hope our participation can signal confidence to foreign investors to come and invest in Bangladesh. We will do whatever we can to push our startups to grow into tremendous successes and bring returns to our investors.”
Managed by its three partners, Syed Javed Noor, Mustafizur Rahman Khan, and Samad Miraly, the fund is actively investing in early-stage technology companies solving large problems. The fund intends to invest in 6-8 more startups by the end of 2022.
Previously, the fund invested in Intelligent Machines Limited, a retail AI startup. It has and plans to continue to leverage the fund and IDLC group infrastructure to support its startups on an otherwise unprecedented level locally.
Syed Javed Noor, deputy managing director at IDLC and partner at IDLC Venture Capital Fund I, said, “Bangladesh is transforming from manual to digital. Being in the banking industry over two decades, I have personally seen the growth of local businesses and the crucial role it plays to keep the economic engine of our country thrive. So, we are extremely happy that we are able to accelerate the next wave of digital businesses that will define the future businesses in our country. Our two recent investments are testament to our vision to help transform Bangladesh.”
IDLC Venture Capital Fund I is actively looking to invest in and support promising technology and technology-enabled companies operating in Bangladesh.
Mustafizur R Khan, partner at IDLC VC Fund I said, we envisioned the coming of digital Bangladesh a lot earlier, so we took early bets on the local startups. We are now able to combine our investment insights that are backed by financial prowess of an institution like IDLC, which we can amplify with our limited partners' appetite for co investment or follow-on funding.