Batch 5 start-ups graduate from GP Accelerator

Batch 5 start-ups graduate from GP Accelerator
Batch 5 start-ups graduate from GP Accelerator

The start-ups of Batch Five of GP Accelerator graduated through a pitch night in presence of local and international investors at GP House on Monday. 

GP Accelerator is an innovation platform that offers a four-month curriculum-based mentorship programme with several international and local mentors. The selected startups each receive $15,000 as seed funding against 8% in equity. Additionally, the startups get around $11,200 worth of Amazon Web Service credit (AWS), and office space in GP House, said a press release.
Throughout the four-month programme, teams get the opportunity to learn from local and foreign mentors, industry experts and professionals on critical development elements like term sheet, valuation, financial modelling, and branding. On top of that, the platform also helps connect the startups with potential investors to accelerate their business. The total value of all the support provided to each team is approximately Tk 6.5 million and on average, the startups have been able to increase their valuation by four times over just six months since they join the programme, said the release.
Addressing the programme as the chief guest, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu congratulated Grameenphone for creating this platform for young minds in Bangladesh to create solutions the country needs using technology.
“This supports the Digital Bangladesh vision of our Government and I am so excited to learn today from the graduates of GP Accelerator that they are solving some of the most pressing needs of the country such as finding parking on the go,” he added.
Commenting on the development of the GPA program over the last three years and the increasingly stronger quality of the startups that are participating, Grameenphone CEO Michael Foley said that the platform has been successful in “creating a very strong local startup ecosystem in Bangladesh and has quickly evolved into one of the most coveted startup mentorship program in the country”.
Since the programme started it has accelerated 26 startups, out of which 20 startups graduated successfully. GPAccelerator has become the benchmark for the startup ecosystem in Bangladesh in this short span of time. Over 1000 applications were received for batch 5 of the programme, where they after rigorous processing selected the best five.
The five start-ups are:
Search English
Search English is a platform for common people to develop their English proficiency by overcoming the fear and shame. With the slogan, “Learn English to Change life”, it helps over 1.5 million people to improve their English online. Within a course of one year, Search English already has 1000+ success stories.
Parking Koi
Parking Koi, through its parking sharing platform, helps the drivers to find the nearest available parking spaces using Parking Koi app. At the same time, it also creates an alternative earning source for the owners of the underutilized parking spaces.
cWork
cWork is a micro job platform where an employer can get any big task done right away. cWork divides the task into smaller pieces and distributes it among a selected pool of distributors. Thousands of verified contributors complete the task on the go and submit it online. cWork ensures the quality of the task using Artificial Intelligence and forwards it to the employer.
OnuKit
OnuKit is one of the most unique startups of GPAccelerator Batch 5. It’s a revolutionary app that helps SMEs to execute everyday business communication efficiently. Just installing the OnuKit app, a business owner can keep a track of business performance.