Bangladesh Angels Announces Launch of Bangladesh Women Investors Network (BWIN) to support women entrepreneurs and investors
Launch of the pioneering network of women business angels in the country
[Dhaka, Bangladesh] - On the 25th of March, the Bangladesh Angels Network (BAN) launched Bangladesh Women Investors Network (BWIN), its sister chapter to support women entrepreneurs and investors.
Bangladesh Angels Network (BAN) is the nation’s first angel investment network to nurture entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, connecting them to both local and global investors. 3 years after its launch, Bangladesh Angels is a global network with 340+ members, having supported 27 startups and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh to raise close to U$4.5 million. 33% of the portfolio are women-led and women-founded companies, and 10% of the network are women investors. As it begins its 4th year, Bangladesh Angels has launched a new chapter to put a spotlight on women investors and women entrepreneurs, with the aim to create more of the former and help facilitate more funds into the latter.
The launch event was graced by founders, investors and key stakeholders from the Bangladesh startup community and beyond
This new initiative, Bangladesh Women Investors Network (BWIN) is overseen by an advisory board consisting on Ms. Tina Jabeen, the founding MD of Startup Bangladesh Limited, Ms. Anita Ghazi Rahman, the Managing Partner of Legal Circle, Ms. Farzana Kashfi, Board Member at Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) and Ms. Sharawwat Islam, CFA, MD at Truvalu.
The advisory board will be supported by committees to screen women-led and women-focused companies as well as to oversee a fellowship program for young Bangladeshi women to be placed into startups for internships and management trainee positions, in order to build the long-term talent pipeline of women startup leaders in the ecosystem. BWIN will also be engaged in knowledge sharing and learning sessions around investment topics for women, as well as introducing and advocating for gender lens investing frameworks to the ecosystem.
BWIN was formally launched at a reception held at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh on Friday, March 25, attended by startup ecosystem leaders, angel and foreign impact investors including Truvalu and Roots of Impact, entrepreneurs and members of both the advisory board of BWIN and the governing board of BAN.
H.E. Anne van Leeuwen, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bangladesh, and Prof. Dr. Nuzhat Choudhury, Professor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), presided over the event as Special Guest and Chief Guest respectively.
“Access to finance and network are two key challenges that women entrepreneurs face - BWIN addresses both. Besides, investing in women is one of the best investments one can make. In business, women tend to be more reliable and think more realistically when setting goals”, mentioned H.E. Anne van Leeuwen in his opening remarks.
The Chief Guest, Professor Dr. Nuzhat Choudhury added, “I cannot help but quote the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - ‘Ebarer Songram Amader Muktir Songram, Ebarer Songram Shadhinotar Songram’ - translated into English which means - ‘Our fight is for emancipation, our fight is for freedom’. We have free land but emancipation becomes a big word due to society, gender issues, poverty and the caste system. When I see successful businesswomen, I see individuals who are our next generation fighters, fighters for emancipation. You are breaking the glass ceiling not only for yourself, but for every generation to come”.
This was then followed by a presentation from Nirjhor Rahman, CEO of Bangladesh Angels Network. “We want to be more conscientious about supporting women entrepreneurs in our pipeline, including potential SMEs. On the other side of the coin, there is also a growing interest among women professionals, executives and business owners, locally and in diaspora, to support and possibly invest in entrepreneurs”, he shared.
Sharing her reflections on the launch, Sharawwat Islam, Managing Director at Truvalu Bangladesh said, “I have seen women being underrepresented in board rooms, meetings, companies listed the stock exchange and also in the client base of banks and non-bank financial institutions. So I think now is the best time to bring in women leadership in the investment and startup ecosystem to unlock the potential of women investors and founders”.
“In Africa, women entrepreneurs outnumber male entrepreneurs, especially in the agriculture sector. However, despite this, a higher amount of funding goes to male entrepreneurs. As an emerging market, the scene in Bangladesh isn’t any different. Deliberate actions to strengthen women’s enterprises need to be taken because of the positive effect they provide to our communities and the society at large. BWIN is part of that deliberate action”, said Jaap-Jan Verboom, Global CEO of Truvalu shedding light on the case for investing in women from an international perspective.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Fahreen Hannan, Founder of Dhakacast, one of BAN’s portfolio companies, mentioned that women founders may face lots of challenges in fundraising, including gender bias from potential investors.
Zahia Khondoker, Co-Founder and CEO of fashion ecommerce StridesCo also shared about her experience in her roles as a founder and an investor - the latter which she is exploring to diversify her investment portfolio.
Tawhida Shiropa, Founder of Moner Bondhu added, “Moner Bondhu was among the first cohort of Startup Bangladesh's investment last year - and I was fortunate to have received tremendous support from BAN during this process. A platform like BWIN will help extend such support to other women founders like myself.”
Speaking on the occasion, Farzana Kashfi remarked, “We aim to engage more women investors and founders in the startup ecosystem of Bangladesh and thereby create pathways for the creation of both. We also want to increase the overall engagement of women across the system by engaging a wider group of stakeholders such as schools and universities”.
Tina Jabeen, Founding MD of Startup Bangladesh Limited and BWIN Advisory Board Founding Member emphasized on the massive market and business potential in the areas of agriculture, education, healthcare, supply-chain and in every aspect of client services in an emerging market such as Bangladesh. “Gender inclusivity, gender equity needs to be a part of this whole equation. BWIN aims to bring in women investors and connect them to women founders. We want to seize the moment”, she said.
Anita Ghazi Rahman, Managing Partner at the Legal Circle and BWIN Advisory Board Founding Member concluded the event with her closing remarks, reiterating BWIN’s vision, “BWIN aims to address the early stage financing gap by investing in and facilitating investments into Bangladeshi, women-led startups as they go on to become unicorns and even decacorns”.
Check out the BWIN launch video below:
Those interested to invest in or pitch to BWIN can sign up via the website www.bwin.vc.