Orange Corners Bangladesh is a multi-year entrepreneurship development and financing facility dedicated to equipping youth and early-stage entrepreneurs with the resources necessary to build sustainable, investment-ready businesses. A global public-private initiative by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the programme operates through a structured framework of ideation support, incubation, acceleration, technical assistance, and funding, with the aim to foster entrepreneurial innovation, strengthen local ecosystems, and enable businesses to drive meaningful social and environmental impact.
Pre-incubation
We empower young aspiring entrepreneurs and those with ideation-stage initiatives by providing capacity-building programmes, information sessions, interactive workshops, inspiring founder stories and ideation challenges with grant awards.
Who is it for:
- Youth aspiring to become entrepreneurs
- Any Bangladeshi between 18 – 35 years, who wants to build a business or whose initiative is currently in ideation/prototype stage
- Stages: nascent entrepreneurs, ideation & prototype stage
- Participants applying for ideation challenges must also focus on the SDGs
- We encourage women’s participation
What we offer:
- A dynamic SDG-themed competition designed to tackle local challenges whille equipping participants with the skills to build impactful social businesses. Through immersive two-day bootcamps led by experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts, participants refine their business concepts before presenting them to a panel of judges. The top three winners receive awards of up to BDT 1,00,000.
- Founder stories and PowHer events
- Campus Coordinator programme
- Information sessions
Incubation
Our Incubation programme is designed for young Bangladeshi entrepreneurs (18 – 35 years) with initiatives tackling the Sustainable Development Goals. Through hands-on capacity-building sessions, mentorship and funding, we help entrepreneurs strengthen their business foundations and prepare for their next stage of growth.
Who is it for:
- Businesses that are in the post-market roll-out stage
- Businesses that address one or more of the SDGs
- At least one founder must be a Bangladeshi national, aged between 18 – 35, and based in Bangladesh.
- Priority will be given to businesses led by women or those with women in senior leadership roles.
- Incubation is sector-agnostic
What we offer:
- Capacity building: Intensive training sessions, masterclasses and foundational skills building to strengthen entrepreneurial capacity.
- Personalised coaching and mentorship: entrepreneurs receive one-on-one coaching and personalised follow-up at regular intervals to guide them through their growth and challenges. Entrepreneurs also get access to industry experts and seasoned founders for customised mentorship.
- Exclusive resources: access to the Entrepreneur toolkit and other resources to support growth outside of and beyond the incubation.
- Events and networking: access to exclusive networking events to facilitate connections with other entrepreneurs, key ecosystem players and potential investors.
- Co-working space: complimentary access to co-working spaces in Impact Hub Dhaka Mirpur (2 seats per company).
- Funding: selected participants will receive a grant of up to €5,000.
Acceleration
The Acceleration programme supports graduates of the Orange Corners Bangladesh incubation programme to enhance their operational foundations. Through targeted business development support, advanced capacity-building sessions and impact management guidance, the acceleration programme helps early-stage enterprises strengthen internal systems, optimise operations and align for future funding opportunities such as the Orange Corners Innovation Fund.
Who is it for:
- Any business that has successfully graduated from the Orange Corners Bangladesh incubation programme
What we offer:
- Business development support (finance, internal audit and compliance;
- Administration and procurement; Human resources and/or IT)
- Capacity-building sessions
- Impact measurement and management support
- Co-working space at Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (Mohakhali)
- Networking opportunities
- Access to the Orange Corners global alumni network
- For interested participants, customised support is also provided to help them meet the eligibility criteria for the Orange Corners Innovation Fund
Orange Corners Innovation Fund
The Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF) is an investment-readiness and financing facility designed to strengthen early-stage, impact-driven businesses. By extending tailored financing—including grants and concessional loans—alongside tailored technical assistance, OCIF supports entrepreneurs in building the operational, financial and strategic foundations needed for scalable growth. Additionally, OCIF contributes to the broader investment ecosystem by creating a pipeline of trusted, de-risked and investment-ready businesses.
Who it is for:
- Businesses that are legally registered as Private Limited Companies in Bangladesh
- Possess at least 2 years of operational traction (must be able to provide 2 years of audited financial statements)
- Businesses must be able to demonstrate profitability, positive cash flow from operations, strong liquidity and healthy revenue trends
- Businesses that address one or more of the SDGs
- Priority will be given first to graduates of the Orange Corners incubation programme, followed by businesses supported by other Dutch-funded
- programmes in Bangladesh, and then to external applicants.
- Priority will be given to businesses led by women or those with women in senior leadership roles.
What we offer:
- Access to funding: eligible participants may receive up to €50,000 in blended financing (grants and soft loans), disbursed in tranches tied to performance milestones and due diligence requirements. Funding is designed to unlock additional capital and accelerate business growth.
- Tailored technical assistance: eligible participants will receive 6 months of customised mentorship and advisory support from matched technical and sectoral experts.
- Comprehensive capacity building: businesses will receive curated training sessions, masterclasses and workshops covering essential topics such as fundraising, financial management, product development and legal compliance, designed to meet the needs of growing, impact-driven businesses.
- Business development support: structural support and milestone tracking to strengthen financial sustainability and long-term viability.
- Impact measurement and management: customised support to help establish and implement impact measurement and management practices to ensure achievement of growth and impact goals.
- Networking Opportunities: access to Orange Corners global alumni and mentor network, industry experts, investors; opportunities to showcase at demo days and investor meetings.
What Orange Corners can offer you
- Skills development
Orange Corners Bangladesh offers both collective and individual workshops on the different stages of creating a social enterprise
- Coaching and mentoring
The programme provides a personal development week, collective workshops in soft skills, and mentoring for young entrepreneurs
- Personalised follow-up
There is an advisory board (strategic committee) and collective support available to help entrepreneurs as they develop their businesses
- Events and networking
Participants can attend professional meetings and events organised by the incubators to help them connect with other entrepreneurs and potential investors
- Co-working space
The cohort companies can avail the co-working spaces in Mirpur and Mohakhali
- Funding
Successful entrepreneurs in the programme will have the opportunity to access funding up to 50,000 euros and take their enterprises to the next level so that they can raise funding from VCs and other investors
FAQ
What does the Incubation programme offer?
- Skills development: Collective and individual workshops on the stages of the creation of social enterprises
- Coaching and mentoring: Personal development week, collective workshops in soft skills and mentoring
- Personalised follow-up: Advisory board (strategic committee), collective creativity workshops (hold-up), bi-monthly monitoring, etc
- Events and networking: Regular events for networking and relationship building
- Access to co-working space: In Mirpur and Mohakhali
- Funding: Opportunity to access funding up to 50,000 euros and take their enterprises to the next level so that they can raise funding from VCs and other investors
When can I apply?
- Campus Coordinator Programme open annually, with the next cohort starting in early 2025.
- The Ideation Challenge accepts applications twice a year. Next application will open in 2025.
- The Incubation Programme accepts applications twice a year. Next applications will open in 2025.
Follow our social media channels to stay updated!
How can I apply?
The application link to apply to our different programme is located at the top of this page
What are the eligibility criteria for applying to the Ideation Challenge?
- Anyone aged between 18 to 30 years
- Teams of 2-3 members, with at least one female
- Must submit the application form in a team
- Solution must focus on SDG
Am I eligible to apply to the incubation programme?
The Incubation programme is open to young entrepreneurs aged between 18 – 35 years.
The Incubation programme is open to:
- Early-stage enterprises that have not received significant funding or traction till date, and invites for-profit businesses, not-for-profit businesses, registered and unregistered businesses to apply.
- Successful applicants have a strong founding team with the necessary skills and expertise to execute the business plan, with at least one female member as a co-founder or in a leadership position.
- The programme is open to both startups with scalable business models and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from all business sectors.
- Applicants must be fully committed to the 6-month long Incubation programme, and should attend all training sessions, masterclasses, workshops, meetings, etc. Inability to participate in mandatory sessions for any reason will prevent teams from meeting eligibility criteria for funding support or graduating from the programme.
Is the programme open to other cities outside of Dhaka?
Yes, the Incubation programme invites entrepreneurs from all over Bangladesh to apply; however, the Selection Boot Camps and Incubation programme activities will be held in Dhaka which all selected teams will be expected to attend.
Are there any registration fees for the programme?
No, there are no application fees for any of our programmes.
How will I know if I am selected?
Applicants will be contacted via e-mail after the application review process.
Do you take equity for the funding opportunities?
We do not take any equity from the entrepreneurs. Our funding opportunities are a combination of grants and soft-loan only!
Can someone outside the age range of 18-35 apply to the programme?
For the Ideation Challenge and Campus Coordinator Programme, participants need to be between 18 and 35 years old. However, for the Incubation programme, primary applicants must be under 35, while co-founders may be older/younger.
Can individuals of a different nationality apply to the programme?
For the Ideation Challenge, participants are eligible as long as they are enrolled in a university in Bangladesh. However, for the Incubation programme, founders regardless of nationalities are eligible to apply.
What are the benefits of applying to the programme?
The Orange Corners Bangladesh programme offers numerous benefits, including skill development, financial support and access to resources to help turn ideas into sustainable businesses. The programme has three phases: Pre-Incubation, which raises entrepreneurship awareness through Campus Coordinator programs, events and Ideation Challenges; Incubation, which provides intense training, mentorship and funding opportunities up to 5,000 euros for early-stage entrepreneurs; and Post-Incubation, which offers top graduates access to funding up to 50,000 euros to scale their enterprises. Participants also benefit from training, coaching and networking opportunities.
Do I need to ensure at least one female team member/co-founder to apply?
Yes, it is required to have at least one female member in a leadership role.
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Where to find us
Orange Corners Bangladesh Mohakhali Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212 Orange Corners Bangladesh Mirpur Impact Hub Dhaka Level 9, Grameen Telecom Bhaban, Mirpur Zoo Road, Dhaka 1216 [email protected]
