US venture capital firm to fund local budding entrepreneurs

The Founder Institute, an entrepreneur training and startup launch programme and Fenox Venture Capital, a global venture capital firm, have partnered to fund the next generation of aspiring entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, transforming new ideas into funded start-ups, the companies said in a statement.

The two Silicon Valley-based organisations pledge to guide local founders through the entire process of developing high-growth technology businesses in sectors such as mobile apps, digital health and enterprise software.

The stronger companies from the upcoming Founder Institute chapter in Dhaka will each receive a $15,000 investment from Fenox Venture Capital upon graduation from the intensive programme.

"We are excited to launch a new chapter in Bangladesh under the guidance of two strong local Directors, Sajid Rahman, and Minhaz Anwar," said Adeo Ressi, CEO of the Founder Institute. "Fast growing markets needs the support of credible investors to build great companies. Investing in developing markets takes local knowledge, good contacts, and specialised expertise, and we found an experienced partner in Fenox Venture Capital to help our graduates grow after the program is over."

The Founder Institute and Fenox Venture Capital share a commitment to fostering innovation in emerging markets, which is demonstrated by multiple symbiotic activities in different parts of the world.

The two organisations decided to partner first in Bangladesh.

"

We believe in the entrepreneurial potential of the Bangladeshi people, which is why we launched a fund focused on Bangladesh," says Anis Uzzaman, founder and general partner at Fenox Venture Capital. "When we saw that another Silicon Valley-based organization took an interest in the market, we decided that this presented a great opportunity to collaborate on helping entrepreneurs in the region."

To qualify for the investment, Founder Institute graduates must be working full-time on their businesses, must have formed an initial team and must be able to show substantial progress on their final product. Graduate companies will be nominated from a panel of entrepreneurs and investors at the graduation ceremony in May, 2015.

The Founder Institute program in Dhaka starts on February 17, 2015, and applications are due by no later than February 11th, 2015. The program already has over 100 applicants with over 75% of the available spots in the program filled. Aspiring Founders from across Bangladesh are invited to submit their own application at http://FI.co/join to fill the last few positions in the programme.

Fenox has just announced a $200 million fund focusing on Bangladesh and executing its first investment into Pryio.com.

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