The first edition of Get in the Ring Bangladesh was held on 17th of January 2016 in Dhaka hosted by Daffodil International University. After a 60 days selection round and grooming 8 finalists got the chance to Get in the Ring in front of the audience and the chief guest Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor of Bangladesh Bank. It was a unique evening in the history of Bangladesh with music, dancing and strong battles between the startups. The Eight finalists, The Bridge, One Roof, Bagher Bachcha, My Doctor, GameXot, Food for People (FFP) and Drisa battled for a spot in the final round to win the title of National Champion, Get in the Ring Bangladesh. The winner secures a ticket to the Regional Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia going to be held on 15th of February 2016.
The winners of the first four battles – The Bridge, Drisa, My Doctor, and FFP faced against each other in the final battle. The tensions was high during this battle, even the jury deliberated needed extra time to choose a winner. In the end Food for People (FFP) was selected as the winner. The start-up took off last year after 23-year-old Atikur Rahman realized that a plentiful amount of food goes to waste every day in various functions and restaurants in Dhaka, which the city’s needy people could do with.
Food for People CEO, Md Atikur Rahman said, “whenever people have excess food they will just inform us through the mobile app and we will then send personnel with logistics to collect the food and to distribute it among the people wo are really hungry.’ He also mentioned that his start-up is to respond the second millennium goal – “zero hunger”
The judges’ panel comprised Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI); Sukamal Singha Choudhury, a SME Consultant of Bangladesh Bank; Naaz Farhana Ahmed, President of Dhaka Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Managing Director of Kanak Handicrafts Ltd. and Ishtiaq Ahmed, CEO of Omera Group.
Mr. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Daffodil International University, said that the international platform Get in the Ring will rapidly change the growth rate of entrepreneurial initiatives of the country. He also mentioned that more than nine hundred start-ups applied for the competition but 36 made the cut. Through two rounds of the competition the number was brought down to eight for the national final. The participants were from University of Dhaka, IBA-DU, North South University, Daffodil International University, Independent University, Bangladesh, BRAC University, BUET, Stamford, AIUB and more.
BB Governor Atiur Rahman said all the eight start-ups that made it to the national final deserve finances and investment, so the banks can look at them as profitable projects. He also mentioned in his speech “It is heartening to see that the Get in the Ring puts the spotlight, giving them a podium for creating a global fan base and connecting investors.”