Shark Tank Bangladesh Reveals Its Panel of ‘Sharks’

ShareTrip, a leading travel and lifestyle platform in Bangladesh, has been recognized as the "Leading Online Travel Agency" at the Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Awards 2024. The award highlights the company's innovation and excellence in the travel industry.

ShopUp's B2B platform, MOKAM, has won the "Best E-commerce (B2B)" award for the second time at the Bangladesh Retail Congress 2024, held at Hotel Le Méridien. MOKAM connects small retailers with manufacturers, strengthening supply chains and ensuring product availability.

Jatri, a Bangladeshi travel tech platform, has expanded into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets, starting with Saudi Arabia and the UAE through its new platform "Saafir.co." The platform offers travel services for domestic Umrah pilgrims and private chauffeur services in Riyadh and Dubai. CEO Aziz Arman emphasized the growing popularity of Jatri's automated car rental and bus booking services, simplifying online bookings and payments.

Foodi has been honored with the Best Retail Startup (Honorable Mention) award at the Bangladesh Retail Awards 2024, organized by the Bangladesh Brand Forum on the night of October 5 at La Meridien in the capital. Within just a few months, Foodi has achieved over 450,000 downloads and is connected with more than 4,000 restaurants.

An audit by the VAT Intelligence, Audit, and Investigation Directorate has uncovered significant VAT evasion by Daraz Bangladesh Limited in three areas: sales underreporting, improper deduction of VAT on services, and rental payments. Between April 2020 and March 2021, Daraz sold goods worth Tk 91 crore but declared only Tk 85 crore, hiding sales worth Tk 5.4 crore and evading VAT of over Tk 48 lakh, including interest. Additionally, the company failed to pay VAT on rental payments, amounting to Tk 36 lakh including interest.

Bangladesh's agricultural startups face significant challenges, primarily due to a lack of funding and investor interest, despite the sector's vast economic potential. Financial institutions often regard agriculture as high-risk, forcing startups to rely on seed funding and early-stage capital. The agriculture sector, valued at around $40 billion and employing over 40% of the labor force, is increasingly threatened by climate change impacts like flash floods and erratic rainfall, which further discourage investment.