Brac Bank names winners of ‘Uddokta 101’

Brac Bank has announced three winners from the first batch of students of the country's first SME accelerator programme, Uddokta 101.

The winners are Farhana Rahman (Owner, Diva's World), Misha Mahjabeen (CEO, Healthy Bengal), and Khaleda Sultana (CEO, Jutemart).

Uddokta 101 is the country's first accelerator programme for SMEs that Brac Bank launched jointly with the University of Dhaka.

Batch one of 'Uddokta 101' started their course in April 2021 with 31 entrepreneurs, out of which 21 were female.

Farhana Rahman, who secured the top position at the final pitch round, started her enterprise with only Tk5,000 in hand. 6 years ago, she launched Diva's world, an online-based platform where women can get everything under one umbrella.

The first runner-up, Misha Mahjabeen, is the founder of 'Healthy Bengal'. It is a startup that encourages people with its motto of investing in preventive health.

Khaleda Sultana, Founder and CEO, Jutemart and Craft, obtained the second runner-up position. In 2010, she started exporting jute-based products to Australia and Europe (Denmark and Norway) through her friends, family, and relatives. Apart from export, she produces jute-based products for local retailers, corporate events, and export agents.

Syed Abdul Momen, DMD and head of SME Banking, Brac Bank, said, "We are proud to create further synergies between Brac Bank and the young entrepreneurs who dream of leading the change in the country."

"We, along with University of Dhaka, will continue our journey to become the top accelerator of SMEs, especially women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh" he added.

Registration of the second batch of 'Uddokta 101' is closing on 30 July. Applicants can register themselves by visiting the following link: https://www.bracbank.com/uddokta_101/.