Although Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem has made significant progress over the past decade, the recent Flight Expert scandal has delivered a major blow to investor confidence. Despite innovative ideas and the courage of young entrepreneurs, controversial actions by certain startups have raised concerns among investors, particularly regarding the personal integrity and ethics of founders.
Flight Expert: A Symbol of Lost Trust
One of the country’s leading online travel agencies (OTA), Flight Expert, lured customers with low-cost flight tickets, collected advance payments worth crores of takas, and then disappeared. The company’s owners reportedly fled abroad with their families. Although police arrested three officials, compensating the victims has proven almost impossible. This is not just a case of a single company’s misconduct—it severely undermines the credibility of the entire ecosystem. Similar frauds have occurred before: in 2021, 24Ticket.com absconded with 50 crore takas, and the massive Evaly scam shook the e-commerce sector. In October 2023, the foreign-invested e-logistics company Paper Fly, which received 202 crore takas from the Indian firm Ecom in 2021–22, shut down citing funding issues, raising questions about founder integrity. Another controversial name is Nogod, the mobile financial service provider considered Bangladesh’s second “unicorn” (a startup valued over $1 billion but not listed in the stock market). It was later revealed that the company had issued more virtual currency or “e-money” than actual capital, spreading it across the market. These incidents have placed both domestic and foreign investors in a difficult position.
Investment Trends: Hope and Doubt
Startup culture in Bangladesh has grown steadily since 2010. Over the past decade, nearly $1 billion has been invested in Bangladeshi startups, with 75% coming from foreign venture capital. In 2021, local startups received a record $435 million in investment. That fell to $125 million in 2022 and $71 million in 2023, a drop of roughly 50%. In 2024, it declined by another 50%. The logistics and mobility sector attracted the largest investment in 2024 ($13.5 million), with Pathao alone receiving $12 million. Other sectors include fintech ($7.6 million), energy and climate ($3.3 million), software and enterprise ($3.3 million), e-commerce and retail ($3 million), education/edtech ($1.5 million), health ($1.3 million), and food & agriculture ($1.2 million).
Top sector-based investment recipients include ShopUp ($6.5M, edtech), SolShare ($1.2M, energy), MarkePolo.ai ($1.5M, software), Priyoshop ($2.3M, e-commerce), Ten Minute School ($1M, edtech), Arogya ($1M, health), and Foshol ($1M, agriculture). In 2024, 94% of investments came from venture firms. In the first half of 2025, except for B2B e-commerce platform ShopUp, very few startups attracted investment. Saudi Arabia-based B2B company Sary invested $110 million in ShopUp, setting a record, while other sectors saw little progress. Limited pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding has left new startups struggling for capital.
Government-managed venture fund Startup Bangladesh Limited has invested only a few crore takas in small startups like Ten Minute School, Seva XYZ, ShareTrip, and Aria71. However, government funding remains slow and bureaucratic.
The Way Forward
Restoring trust requires fundamental changes among startups. Mandatory publication of audited financial statements, adherence to a defined code of conduct, and rapid legal action with asset seizure for proven fraudulent behavior are essential. Investors need a reliable rating system to assess startup risks. Government venture funds like Startup Bangladesh Limited must become more agile and tech-driven, potentially adopting partial private-sector management where needed.
Conclusion
Innovation and entrepreneurship are the future, but they must be grounded in transparency and ethics. If Bangladesh’s startups aim to attract global investment, they must first clean their own house. Scandals like Flight Expert demonstrate that once trust is lost, everything is at risk. Entrepreneurs should learn that building a sustainable business requires not only technology and pitch decks but also genuine values.
Author: Shaon Solaiman
Technology journalist and analyst, Rupali Bangladesh
