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Bangladesh Startups Face Funding Crisis as Growth Story Falters

Bangladesh's once-thriving startup ecosystem is facing a severe funding crunch, with companies scaling back and struggling to pay salaries. Prominent online grocer Chaldal saw employees protest unpaid wages, highlighting the sector's decline. Funding plummeted from $434 million in 2021 to just $42 million in 2024. Industry leaders cite global and domestic pressures for the downturn.

Key Points: Bangladesh Startup Funding Crunch: Growth Story Loses Steam

  • Funding dropped from $434M in 2021 to $42M in 2024
  • Chaldal employees protested unpaid wages for up to four months
  • Over 1,200 startups active at peak, now struggling
  • Global and domestic pressures drive downturn
2 min read

Bangladesh startups face funding crunch as growth story loses steam: Report

Bangladesh's startup ecosystem faces funding crunch as firms scale back, with Chaldal employees protesting unpaid wages. Funding dropped to $42M in 2024 from $434M in 2021.

"The company had never faced salary payment issues in its 12-13 years of operation before August 2025. - Waseem Alim"

New Delhi, April 26

Bangladesh's once-thriving startup ecosystem is showing clear signs of strain, with funding drying up, companies scaling back operations, and even prominent firms struggling to meet basic obligations like paying salaries, a report has said.

The crisis came into sharp focus in early March when hundreds of employees protested outside the Jashore office of Chaldal over unpaid wages, with some workers claiming they had not been paid for up to four months, according to The Daily Star report.

The episode has raised fresh concerns about the health of a sector that was once seen as a symbol of the country's digital and economic rise.

Founded in 2013, Chaldal had emerged as a pioneer of online grocery delivery in Bangladesh, becoming a household name in urban areas.

The company reportedly raised around $40 million between 2015 and 2025 and expanded aggressively, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, when its annual revenue surged to $55 million.

Chaldal's troubles reflect a broader downturn across the startup ecosystem, which flourished during the 2010s with the rise of companies such as bKash, ShopUp, Pathao, and Shohoz.

Global firms like Uber and foodpanda also entered the market, drawn by rapid digital adoption and strong economic growth.

At its peak, Bangladesh had over 1,200 active startups, with nearly 200 new ventures launching each year.

The sector attracted more than $1.12 billion in funding since 2010, largely driven by foreign investors.

The high point came in 2021, when startups raised over $434 million across 94 deals, including a landmark $250 million investment in bKash by SoftBank.

However, the momentum has since slowed sharply. By 2024, annual funding dropped to just $42 million across 41 deals, and in 2025, only 12 deals were recorded, bringing in around $124 million, the report stated.

Notably, nearly all of that funding came from a single $110 million deal backing SILQ Group, formed through the merger of ShopUp and Saudi-based Sary.

Industry leaders said the downturn is the result of both global and domestic pressures.

Waseem Alim said the company had never faced salary payment issues in its 12-13 years of operation before August 2025.

Fahim Ahmed noted that startups have been facing increasingly precarious conditions over the past two years, the report stated.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Sad to see a pioneer like Chaldal struggling. I've used their service a few times when I was in Dhaka. The wages issue is particularly concerning—four months without pay! How can employees survive on that? This shows that the startup boom created many jobs but also left people vulnerable. Government policies need to step in to protect workers in the startup sector.
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Vikram M
The $110 million deal for SILQ Group is interesting but it's basically one big ticket masking the broader downturn. Bangladesh's startup story was built on foreign capital, and when the global liquidity dried up post-2022, so did the funding tap. As someone who works in venture capital in Bangalore, I can say this: the froth has to settle for genuine innovation to thrive. Let's hope the strong companies survive and emerge leaner.

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Ananya R
I think this is a natural cycle. During Covid, everyone jumped onto e-commerce and delivery apps, and investors were throwing money around. Now the market is correcting. What's worrying is how few deals are happening—only 12 in 2025? That's a sharp drop from 94 in 2021. But look at the bright side: companies that survive this winter will be truly resilient. India went through a similar phase in 2023-24 with many edtech and grocery startups shutting down or cutting costs.
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Rohit P
Total funding since 2010 is $1.12 billion? That's not much when you compare it to Indian startups. Bengaluru alone gets that in a month! No wonder they're struggling—the ecosystem is small and lacks depth. Also, the political climate in Bangladesh has been turbulent, which scares investors. Until they fix governance issues and build a stronger domestic investor base, this cycle will repeat. Just saying what I see.

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