Shomvob: Bridging skill mismatch in the job market
Shomvob has rapidly emerged as a transformative platform for Bangladesh’s workforce, particularly in the blue- and silver-collar segments. They recently made it to the ‘Forbes Asia—100 to Watch’ list for their innovative approach
Graduates in Bangladesh desperately look for jobs but often struggle to find the right one. On the flipside, recruiters struggle to find the perfect candidate. For both ends, the journey is hectic and frustrating. In between, there is the skill mismatch issue as well.
What if there were a single platform that made both landing jobs and finding candidates easier, as well as offered skill development opportunities to match industry demand?
Three young entrepreneurs from Chattogram—Rifad Hossain, Naqib Muhammad Faiyaz, and Hasibur Rahman—believed it was possible and dared to build one. They founded 'Shomvob', the Bangla word for 'possible'.
Shomvob was established in late 2022. Today it has been named in the 'Forbes Asia—100 to Watch' list of 2025. The list features innovative startups across the Asia-Pacific region that are driving impact through strong execution and fresh ideas.
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"The selection process was rigorous. Industry impact, innovation, business model, revenue growth, and funding attractiveness were included in the evaluation criteria," said Hasibur Rahman, the chief operating officer of Shomvob.
"Companies were also required to be headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, privately owned, and have no more than $50 million in annual revenue or $100 million in total funding as of 15 August 2025," he added.
Shomvob has rapidly emerged as a transformative platform for Bangladesh's workforce, particularly in the blue- and silver-collar segments. The company received their first institutional investment in 2023 from Gates Foundation. The grant amounted to $3,00,000. It also raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from Singapore-based VC firm Cocoon Capital last year.
However, Shomvob's chief executive officer Rifad Hossain said that they never want to stay solely dependent on donors' fundings.
"Many startups in Bangladesh remain entirely dependent on donors. They don't have any revenue generation model. As a result, when the funding stops, the company shuts down. But from the very beginning, our goal was to build a sustainable business model of our own," he said.
How Shomvob works
Shomvob broadly offers four types of services. One of the core services is job posting. Through an intuitive platform, employers can easily share opportunities while an AI-powered profile scoring system matches candidates to roles that align with their skills.
"As a B2B company, we only charge recruiters, not job seekers. And we are determined to stick to this model. Also, we have different subscription plans with different price tags," Rifad said.
However, job posting is only the beginning. For organisations searching for highly specialised talent, Shomvob offers recruitment process outsourcing and headhunting. Their expert team steps in to connect businesses with the right people, streamlining the process and ensuring a perfect fit. This saves time and cuts hassle to produce the best outcome.
"When someone posts a job, they only get data of the applicants. But a single job post can easily miss many suitable candidates who might not apply at all. That's why, through our headhunting service, we sort through our entire database and refer the most suitable candidates directly," Shomvob's chief technology officer Naqib Muhammad Faiyaz explained.
From the candidates' perspective, a standout feature of Shomvob is its application tracking system. Through the portal, candidates can apply and monitor the progress of their applications. Even if they are not selected, they receive feedback explaining exactly why they were not considered suitable. This gives them valuable opportunities to learn, upgrade their skills, and improve themselves.
"When someone posts a job, they only get data of the applicants. But a single job post can easily miss many suitable candidates who might not apply at all. That's why, through our headhunting service, we sort through our entire database and refer the most suitable candidates directly."
Shomvob understands that beyond just one-time hires companies often need reliable staffing support. That's where their staffing and payroll solutions come in.
"Whether a company requires flexible, short-term teams or long-term workforce support, we provide scalable options as per business needs. Our payroll services simplify complex processes, ensuring accurate, timely payments while maintaining compliance with all regulations," Hasibur added.
Last but not least, Shomvob offers a free training and skill development platform.
"This particular service may not generate direct revenue for us, but it strengthens our candidate database. With skilled talent in our pool, finding the perfect match becomes much easier on our end," he said.
Future plans
Rifad mentioned that they are now working on post-employment skill development. They plan to introduce a service that will allow employees to sharpen their skills and better align with industry needs while already on the job. They intend to launch it by the end of this year.
Further, they also aim to work with those involved in the international labour market. "Remittances are the lifeblood of our economy. A large number of workers are employed across the world. However, the recruitment process is full of hassles. We aim to simplify this process," Rifad further said.
Bangladesh's startup culture has gained popularity over the past five to seven years. However, Rifad believes that there are still significant gaps in infrastructural development in this sector.
"There is a lack of investor confidence in doing business in Bangladesh. We need policy stability here."
However, Rifad also pointed out that the level of startup knowledge among Bangladeshi people is very low. They do not know enough about how to form and run a startup, or how to attract investment. He believes that if efforts are made to increase knowledge in this area, the culture will grow further.
