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‘Jatri’ app seeks to attract MENA investors to Bangladesh

‘Jatri’ app seeks to attract MENA investors to Bangladesh

Mubasher: Jatri, the first app-based smart bus ticketing and tracking platform in Bangladesh, announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding backed by Dubai-based Falcon Network and Tahseen Consulting as well as other global angel investors, who have supported many leading transport apps.

The seed round is considered as one of the largest seed rounds in Bangladesh, highlighting the ability of the country’s growing digital economy to attract leading investors from MENA, according to a press release on Thursday.

In the early stage, Jatri received pre-seed financing from Adventure Capital, a global venture capital fund founded by Fahim Saleh, the cofounder of Pathao, and several other on-demand transport apps.

At the current moment, Jatri is holding discussions with other MENA investors to fund its series A round to support Bangladesh’s public transport.

In addition, its management team will head to the UAE later in January 2020 to meet with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, and Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority.

Co-founder of Falcon Network, Dr Sayd Farook, said: “In a very short time, Jatri has proven that it has the aptitude to revitalize the public transportation industry in Bangladesh.”

He added: “It has created a pathway for the everyday commuter to benefit from smart solutions, and we believe these solutions have wide ranging applications in many markets in the Middle East and Africa region as well.”

Meanwhile, the CEO of technology advisory and investment firm Tahseen Consulting, Wes Schwalje, remarked: “When most people think of startups, they envision Silicon Valley. We back world-class founders in emerging and frontier markets who are empowering and uplifting the next billion. Bangladesh doesn’t have Silicon Valley's mystique, but its entrepreneurs are building transformative, world-class companies.”

Jatri’s co-founder and CEO, Aziz Arman, stated: “We plan to look at other transport modalities and view enhancing the public transport experience as a global challenge that Jatri’s technology is uniquely positioned to solve. We are creating a solution born in the developing world that can address congestion and enhance public transport ridership in the developing and developed world.”