ShareTrip celebrates 3rd anniversary, awards industry partners, announces new investment from Startup BD Ltd

Dhaka : The country's largest and leading online travel agent (OTA) ShareTrip celebrated its 3rd anniversary together with its partner and stakeholder organisations through a grand award ceremony held at a city hotel on August 7.
At the event, ShareTrip handed over accolades to numerous market players from the travel trade industry for their support and contribution made in 2020-2021. 
This marks the first time an agent is giving awards to its suppliers and industry partners. 
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister, ICT Division, Bangladesh, attended the event as the Chief Guest. Sami Ahmed, Managing Director, Startup Bangladesh Ltd, Sadia Haque, Co-Founder and CEO and Kashef Rahman, Founder of ShareTrip were also present on the occasion. 
Startup Bangladesh Ltd, the flagship venture capital company of ICT Division, decided to back the leading OTA in Bangladesh, making it the very first one in the travel industry. 
To ensure that the OTA gains a competitive edge over all verticals of the travel industry, this strategic investment was infused into ShareTrip. Startup Bangladesh has invested at ShareTrip's USD 50 million company valuation. 
"Most service sectors in Bangladesh are now adapting digital means to expand and augment their scope of operations as part of building our digital economy, and it is very much appreciable - given the global trend of digital transformation we are currently witnessing. ShareTrip has brought notable momentum to the travel and tourism sector through its easy and efficient online-based services. Congratulations to ShareTrip on its 3rd anniversary and most importantly receiving the investment from Startup Bangladesh Ltd," said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister, ICT Division. 
"This is the first time Startup Bangladesh Ltd is investing in the travel industry and we are very happy that ShareTrip is our first venture. Startup Bangladesh aims to support homegrown startups to grow and reach heights that generate higher standards for more foreign investment. The local startup ecosystem is greatly influenced by prospective ventures like ShareTrip, where passion and professionalism, coming together, can provide a single organization with the strength to give its whole industry a significant push forward. ShareTrip has been an outstanding example of how to turn a hopeful idea into a successful business," said Sami Ahmed, Managing Director, Startup Bangladesh Ltd. 
"Future projections show that the online market could grow over 50 per cent in the next three years, and for ShareTrip, the journey will be less of a challenge because of the investment from Startup Bangladesh Ltd. This investment is not only a financial one but rather a strategic one, to strengthen the credibility and progression of the OTAs in the coming days," said Sadia Haque, Co-Founder and CEO, ShareTrip. 
ShareTrip has served over half a million customers from across the country. Over 5000 agents work for the band, making travel more accessible to even the remotest areas through a2i Digital Centres. So far, it has taken approximately 20 per cent of the total online space in the current travel market. Hand in hand with its trade partners, along with stakeholders like the ICT Division, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and Bangladesh Bank, ShareTrip wishes to expand the home-grown tech excellence in the global arena and create a scope of digitization for encouraging more foreign investment, said Kashef Rahman, Founder of ShareTrip.