Staff Correspondent: Dhaka, Jul-27,

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami Monday inaugurated the six-part webinar series, "Shoto Borsho Shoto Asha – Rise Up."

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Startup Bangladesh, Startup India, and the ICT Division of Bangladesh are jointly organizing it.

The webinar series is also supported by the Economic Reporters Forum, Bangladesh Startup Consortium, and BD AIR.

Speaking at today's event, hosted by Startup Bangladesh Managing Director and CEO Tina Jabeen, Palak said: "Increased cooperation between the startups in Bangladesh and India will be mutually beneficial."

High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami said in the next six months, the RiseUp platform will bring together mentors, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors from India and Bangladesh.

He hoped that the platform will facilitate an effective cross-learning opportunity that will benefit talented entrepreneurs from both countries, especially young innovators.

Doraiswami also recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited 50 Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to visit India and connect with the country's startup and innovation ecosystem during his state visit Bangladesh in March 2021.

The high commissioner stressed that the RiseUp series could facilitate such linkages to jumpstart tangible cooperation.

Following the opening ceremony, a panel discussion on "StartUp Landscape in Bangladesh and India – Tech StartUps Transforming the Future" was held.

Yamini Bhushan Pandey, CEO of Startup Incubation and Acceleration Division at Indian School of Business, and Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSPIRT Foundation India and member of National Startup Advisory Council were joined by Wasim Alim, co-founder, and CEO of Chaldal, and Rahat Ahmed, CEO of Anchorless Bangladesh.

Monday's webinar will be followed by more discussions on the regulatory environment for startups, ways to overcome hurdles to create a successful startup, fundraising strategies, strategies for startups to go international, and startup opportunities in Bangladesh and India.