Bangladesh’s startup funding landscape in 2025 appears, at first glance, to suggest a turnaround. A closer examination, however, paints a far harsher picture, with effective investment sinking to a decade low once a single large transaction is stripped out.
The country last recorded peak startup funding in 2021, when total investment reached about $250 million, driven largely by SoftBank’s landmark injection into bKash. Since then, funding volumes have fallen each year amid a global economic slowdown and a sustained contraction in investor risk appetite.
According to LightCastle Partners’ interactive dashboard, Bangladesh Startup Ecosystem: Funding Landscape, total startup funding stood at around $125 million in 2025, bringing it back to levels seen in 2022. This apparent rebound, however, was almost entirely the result of one deal.
The $110 million funding round of Singapore-based SILQ Group accounted for the overwhelming majority of the total. The company is a newly formed business-to-business commerce company created through the merger of Saudi Arabia-based Sary and Bangladeshi ShopUp’s Singapore-based parent.
The round was led by Valar Ventures, founded by Peter Thiel, along with Sanabil Investments, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The capital was mainly earmarked for SILQ Group’s regional operations across the Gulf and South Asia, including debt financing for its financial services arm.
As a result, the funding offered limited direct support to Bangladesh’s domestic startup ecosystem. Once the SILQ Group transaction is excluded, total startup investment in Bangladesh in 2025 plunges to just $14 million, the lowest level recorded since 2014.
LightCastle Partners tracked 12 publicly announced startup deals during the year, nine of which involved global investors, while only three were backed by local capital.
Sector-wise, software, technology, and enterprise solutions dominated activity with five deals. Energy and climate-focused startups accounted for two investments, while the finance sector also saw two. E-commerce and retail attracted two deals, and the education sector received one investment.
By source, global investors contributed $123.3 million, with only a marginal amount coming from local sources. This figure again includes the SILQ Group round.
Among the publicly disclosed transactions, marketing analytics firm Markopolo raised $1 million in a seed round from HFO Residency and later secured an additional $2 million in a separate seed round led by Joa Capital. Pulse Tech Ltd raised $3 million in a Pre-Series A round, while online grocery platform Chaldal received $4.5 million in a Series B+ round.
Cassetex secured $1.6 million in seed funding, and Fly0 Pte raised $60,000 at the pre-seed stage. Grant funding also featured during the year, with Palki Motors receiving $1 million and Markopolo securing an additional $140,000.
On the local front, edtech startup Shikho received seed funding from Startup Bangladesh, while Adeffi was backed by Bangladesh Venture Capital. Beshi Deshi Limited obtained a grant from Oxfam Bangladesh.
Despite headline figures that may suggest stability, the underlying data tells a different story.
Excluding the SILQ Group deal, investment activity in 2025 remained severely constrained, underscoring persistent challenges in attracting capital to local startups and highlighting the fragility of the funding environment.
