An impactful two-day Bootcamp, held under the BYLC Chattogram Ideation Challenge programme, has successfully concluded—empowering aspiring young entrepreneurs in the region.

Organised by the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC), the Bootcamp took place on Friday and Saturday at East Delta University in Chattogram. 

This initiative is part of the Chattogram Ideation Challenge (CIC), supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and aims to equip young entrepreneurs with essential skills, mentorship, and funding to transform their ideas into successful ventures, as stated in a press release. 

A total of 75 participants from 27 promising teams, selected through a competitive process, took part in the Bootcamp. They received hands-on training and engaged in interactive sessions led by industry experts on a range of topics, including business idea validation, design thinking, marketing strategies, product development, budgeting, investment planning, and financial management.

Notable speakers included Waliullah Bhuiyan, founder of Light of Hope and Goofy; Ishmam Chowdhury, chief operating officer of Shikho; Barisha Rabbe, CEO of Memento Professional Services Limited; Shadab Shayeree Ahmed, product owner at Optimizely; Rafiqul Alam Khan, manager at BYLC Ventures; and Habibullah Tamim, regional manager at BYLC.

Following the Bootcamp, selected teams will participate in a post-Bootcamp pitch round, where they will present refined business plans to a panel of judges. The top three teams will each receive a grant of Tk1 lakh and will join an eight-week incubation programme under BYLC’s guidance to begin implementing their ideas.

In the final pitch round, the most promising team will be awarded a grant of Tk4 lakh to further scale their business.

It is worth noting that the EDU Startup & Innovation Foundry partnered in organising this Bootcamp as part of the Chattogram Ideation Challenge, with overall support from the Embassy of the Netherlands to foster youth entrepreneurship in Chattogram.