ShareTrip : Country's first travel tech company to evolve into lifestyle brand

Dhaka: Country's one of the leading travel tech platforms ShareTrip has evolved into a lifestyle brand with new and innovative features, including ST Pay (ShareTrip Pay), first-of-its-kind app introduced by a travel management company in Bangladesh.

This was revealed during the celebration of ShareTrip's 4th anniversary where its new lifestyle app ST Pay was launched through a ceremony organised at a city hotel on November 19.

Speaking on the occasion, Sadia Haque, Co-Founder and CEO of ShareTrip, said, "While marking the significant transition from just a travel brand to a travel and lifestyle brand, with the launch of ST Pay, ShareTrip is currently offering all sorts of travel and lifestyle solutions to its users."

"We are also the first travel tech platform to introduce a full-branded credit card named SkyTrip in partnership with EBL and Mastercard. We are also the first travel tech platform to offer lounge facilities to our users at the airport in partnership with Buy Here Now."

Zunaid Ahmed Palak

In her speech, she also mentioned ShareTrip's upcoming plans to further revolutionise travel. "We will be launching travel sim, flight alert, flight compensation, smart delay and many other products and services. We will also be adding medical tourism in our portfolio with over 400 medial packages to several renowned destinations for our users to avail," she added.   

It may be mentioned here that ShareTrip's mobile app is currently the most downloaded travel app in the country with over 750,000 downloads.

Furthermore, thanks to successful startups like ShareTrip, the country's economy is flourishing, said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division of Bangladesh while attending the event as the Chief Guest.

Sami Ahmed

In his address, the ICT State Minister, said, "ShareTrip has been making significant contributions within the country's tourism sector by seamlessly aligning travel with technology; and now, they are working to expand their horizons and introduce an array of lifestyle features ensuring convenience from all aspects. Through such initiatives, ShareTrip is bringing us closer to our Prime Minister's vision of a Smart Bangladesh."

"With government support, startups like ShareTrip, is helping to create a digital economy in the country. In the last one decade, the government has supported 2500 startups including ShareTrip and together, they have raised nearly USD 1 billion foreign investment," he added. 

He further mentioned, "The govt funded venture capital company-Startup Bangladesh Ltd-over the last three years, invested about BDT 100 crore in 28 startups. In ShareTrip alone, the company invested BDT 5 crore in 2022. Hence, we are proud to see that ShareTrip, in only one year, has achieved 186 per cent revenue growth, paving the way for revolutionised travel and a digital economy."

It may also be mentioned here that ShareTrip, in four years, has created 20 thousand tech jobs and supported 6000 small travel businesses with their B2B platform online.

Following its resounding success, Startup Bangladesh Ltd, Bangladesh Government's flagship venture capital backed by the ICT Division, has again invested in ShareTrip, leveraging its success from 2022. ShareTrip announced the second round of investment from SBL at the same event.

Sadia Haque

Sami Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO, Startup Bangladesh Ltd attended the programme as the Guest of Honour. In his address, he expressed his pride to see ShareTrip flourish exponentially, saying, "In 2022, when we first invested in ShareTrip, its total gross revenue was BDT 400 crore. However, in only one year, ShareTrip has more than doubled its gross revenue to over BDT 900 crore, revolutionising travel forever."

ST Pay

The strategic investment of Startup Bangaldesh Ltd is aimed at strengthening ShareTrip's market position through the introduction of its new service portfolio-ST Pay.

In addition to meeting all the necessities of the globetrotters, ShareTrip has been taking multi-faceted steps to turn it into a lifestyle brand. In continuation of its efforts, ShareTrip recently revamped its website, packed with an array of innovative new features for redefining the travel experience.

Now, ShareTrip has come up with the most integrated features for all users, including ST Pay (digital payment solution). New service options like Shop, Voucher, Mobile Recharge and Pay Bill-all are available with just a tap on its app.

ST Pay comprises a number of beneficial financial tools to add new dimensions to user experience. They have also introduced an array of new features including vouchers, shop, mobile recharge, pay bill and many more.

While marking the significant transition from just a travel brand to a travel and lifestyle brand, ST Pay-with a wide range of financial tools-will simplify transactions for users. There are quite a few useful features like Add Money, Send Money, Money Requests, Bank Transfer, Transaction History, Make Payments, etc, with which the users can conveniently perform different transaction-related functions with ease.

Owing to QR codes, facial recognition, and biometric login, transactions and payments are secure and convenient. This will make transactions within contacts or businesses in the ST Pay network more accessible and hassle-free, offering freedom to the users.

In addition to this, ShareTrip App users can now enjoy other benefits with the newly-introduced features, which will simplify their day to day life. Purchasing or sending vouchers as gifts, shopping from a diverse array of top brands across different industries, recharging your phone's balance from your preferred network and paying utility bills online through ST Pay or other available payment gateways is now just one tap away with ShareTrip's app.

Md Shamsul Arefin, Secretary of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division was also present at the ceremony as the Special Guest along with other high officials from the travel trade industry.

In her concluding remarks, Sadia Haque, Co-Founder and CEO of ShareTrip, said, "Our journey has been a relentless pursuit of global milestones and transforming travel experiences for everyone. ShareTrip is evolving into a comprehensive travel and lifestyle brand, scripting exciting new chapters in our story. With the introduction of ST Pay under ShareTrip, we're not just redefining the travel industry but also fostering a smarter economy in Bangladesh. Today isn't solely about celebrating our achievements; it's about embracing the better experiences that await us."

Senior officials from partner airlines, hotels, financial institutions and corporates were also present at the programme and were recognised for their continued support by ShareTrip on the occasion of its 4th anniversary. A total of 43 awards in different categories, including airline, hotels, agents, financial institutions, corporate, telco, etc were handed over to ShareTrip's partners.