Startup Bangladesh Limited announced on Tuesday the cancellation of a Tk5 crore investment proposal for 10 Minute School, an online educational platform founded by Ayman Sadiq in 2015.
Startup Bangladesh Limited, the first and only flagship venture capital fund of the ICT Division sponsored by the Bangladesh government, confirmed the decision on its official Facebook page. The specific reason for the cancellation has not been disclosed.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for ICT, shared Startup Bangladesh Limited’s post on his official Facebook profile. When asked about the reason for the cancellation, the state minister stated, “As an investment company, we have non-disclosure agreements. Hundreds of people apply for investment. We have invested Tk120 crore in 36 companies, with about 50 others in the process. We can’t disclose information from contracts or negotiations.”
These comments were made at the secretariat on Tuesday.
Speculations suggest the cancellation may be linked to the recent protests demanding government job quota reforms. Ayman Sadiq, co-founder and CEO of 10 Minute School, supported the quota reform demands on Facebook. Two days ago, he updated his cover photo with the message: “We want quota reform. Merit should be the biggest quota.” The post went viral, garnering over 200,000 reactions, 38,000 comments, and nearly 6,000 shares.
