A Comprehensive Exploration of the Digital Startup Ecosystem of Bangladesh

The aim of this paper is to produce a comprehensive summary of the digital startup ecosystem of Bangladesh. A cross-country analysis focusing on the digital performance of Bangladesh relative to its neighbors as well as the best and the worst performing countries in the world reveals that in spite of making noteworthy progress, Bangladesh still lags behind compared to the rest of the world. In this exploratory descriptive paper, we produce a holistic picture of the digital startup ecosystem of Bangladesh along with the emerging Asian markets startup ecosystem snapshot with a view to adding to the almost non-existent academic literature on the topic. On the basis of a comprehensive literature review and interviews of 6 of the country’s leading digital ecosystem experts, we identify the drivers for growth, and challenges pertaining to the ecosystem, and make policy recommendations.