Chattogram-based startup Bonik raises $47,000 in pre-seed funding
Bonik, a startup based in Chattogram, raised $47,000 in pre-seed funding from a prominent angel investor recently, said a press release.
Mohammad Maaz, managing director of Steeltech Industries Limited, invested in Bonik. He has also investment in many other startups including Gaze, Markopolo, Loop and Munchies.
Bonik enables SMEs to launch their e-commerce store within minutes through its mobile app. Young entrepreneur Salman Saafi (CEO), Jonayed Tanjim (COO) and Atikur Rahaman (CTO) co-founded the startup.
Bonik is being built at the point of the e-commerce boom in SMEs. Due to skyrocketing internet penetration and digital adoption brought by the Covid pandemic, consumer behaviour has been shifting and more and more people are now shopping online than ever.
Hence, Bonik aims to simplify e-commerce for small businesses in emerging economies like Bangladesh with no-code, mobile-first tools to let them create, run and grow online without thinking to manage technology, said in the press release.
Salman Saafi, founder and chief executive officer of Bonik, said, "This is the first startup investment in Chattogram. Though Dhaka's startup ecosystem has been rising for a while with more than 80 startups that have raised investments, we are excited to become the flag bearer of the ecosystem in Chattogram, and we firmly believe the scene will be changing in the coming days.”
“The investment raised will be deployed to build the product with more functionality and better user experience, as well as hiring talents in the team to reach its userbase across the country", he added.
Bonik is a simple, yet powerful tool for small merchants who run their businesses mainly through Facebook and Instagram pages, and don't have their own eCommerce website yet.
"The idea of Bonik is to make it easier for any entrepreneur to create and run their online businesses independently. The need for a website is critical for online business as it helps to build a brand and give the buyers a seamless shopping experience as well as a point of trust,” Salman Saafi said.
According to a study reports 67 per cent of customers trusts online businesses with websites. But small merchants cannot event afford Tk 50, 000, sometimes even more budget nor have the technical skills to build and manage e-commerce by themselves.
“So we came up with this idea to help create a full-fledged e-commerce website right from a mobile app to give small merchants the flexibility to focus on their business and brand without the knowledge of coding or using laptops", the Bonik CEO said.
Recently, Bonik had also been selected to join Microsoft for Startups, which is a flagship program by tech giant Microsoft to support early-stage startups.
To learn more, visit Bonik website or download the app from Google Play Store.