Nagad becomes Bangladesh's fastest unicorn

USA - English

• APAC - English

DHAKA, Bangladesh, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nagad, a popular mobile money carrier based in Bangladesh, has emerged as a unicorn startup only in four years of its journey – the fastest in Bangladesh to reach this remarkable feat.

In recognition of the achievement, Tanvir A Mishuk, founder and managing director of Nagad Ltd., received the "Fastest to Unicorn Award" from Honourable Prime Minister of People's Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day "Bangladesh Startup Summit 2023" in Hotel InterContinental Dhaka on 29 July 2023, hosted by Startup Bangladesh Ltd., the flagship venture capital company of the Government of Bangladesh's ICT Division.

Nagad has reshaped the country's MFS industry with one after another disruptive innovation and inspired confidence among people to embrace its products and services that are convenient and affordable. In this way, the state-owned mobile money carrier has established itself as the fastest unicorn startup in Bangladesh.  

Presenting a keynote at the startup summit, State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak lauded Nagad's contribution to building a smart economy in Bangladesh.

Founder and Managing Director of Nagad Ltd. Tanvir A Mishuk said, "The way Digital Bangladesh is marching ahead we should have achieved the unicorn status much earlier. Now, our challenge is to take our company's valuation to USD 2 billion."

Increasing the valuation is not Nagad's main target, rather, it has embarked on its journey mainly to bring unbanked people under financial inclusion and get them used to digital payments, he also, adding, "We have already come a long way in meeting our target."

The way payments continue to evolve in keeping with people's changing lifestyle, there is no denying the fact that cashless is the future. Bangladesh government has taken many initiatives to attract people to digital payments. To complement the country's digital vision, Nagad is also working relentlessly to introduce new products and services required to accelerate the country's transition to a cashless society.

To grow into a complete financial solution, the MFS provider is going to establish a digital bank that will make available all financial services on a single platform. The mobile money carrier has already prepared itself accordingly.

"If we get the licence for digital bank, we will introduce collateral-free loans for small informal businesses who now take loans from moneylenders at 40% interest rate per day," said the Nagad MD.

If everything continues to go in the right direction, Bangladesh will emerge as a Smart Nation by 2041, envisioned by PM Sheikh Hasina.

About Nagad Ltd (https://www.nagad.com.bd/)

Nagad Limited is one of the leading MFS operators in Bangladesh's payment industry with 80 million registered customers and an average daily transaction of about USD 112 million. The digital payment platform, known as a successful public-private partnership between Bangladesh Postal Department and the private sector, was inaugurated in 2019 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

SOURCE Nagad Limited