Govt cancels Tk 5cr fund for 10 Minute School

Startup Bangladesh, the government's venture capital fund, yesterday pulled back its proposed investment of Tk 5 crore in 10 Minute School (10MS), Bangladesh's largest edtech platform.

No official explanation was given by Startup Bangladesh for withdrawing its planned investment in the edtech start-up announced in October last year.

However, the move comes after Ayman Sadiq, the co-founder and chief executive officer of 10MS, made a Facebook post supporting the ongoing student movement for reforming the quota system for government jobs.

"We want quota reform. Merit should be the biggest quota. #QuotaMovement," Sadiq, also a media personality, posted on his public Facebook page with nearly 7 million followers on July 13.

The post was shared 6,400 times and generated about 2.5 lakh likes and 38,000 comments at the time of filing the report.

Sadiq, a graduate of the University of Dhaka's Institute of Business Administration, posted on the issue again on Monday, the day that Chhatra League activists swooped on quota protesters on the Dhaka University campus, leaving at least 300 people injured.

"Dhaka University is bloodied. Why is there blood on my campus? I protest," he posted.

Sadiq's post was followed by the official Facebook page of 10 Minute School changing its profile picture to a black screen, often used to express grief or solidarity with a cause or event.

About 16 hours after Sadiq's post, Startup Bangladesh on its official Facebook page announced cancelling its proposed investment into 10MS.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the state minister of ICT Division, the parent of Startup Bangladesh, made an identical post minutes later.

Startup Bangladesh, Palak and 10MS did not respond to The Daily Star's request for comment.

But in a dialogue organised by the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum at the secretariat yesterday, Palak said that disclosing the reasons for funding cancellation would breach the non-disclosure agreement signed by Startup Bangladesh with 10MS.

Asked if Sadiq's Facebook posts were the reason behind Startup Bangladesh's pulling out from the deal, Palak said: "Whoever the person or whichever the organisation, they must uphold the sovereignty of Bangladesh and the spirit of the Liberation War. Someone can be a successful entrepreneur, journalist, lawyer and have different political ideologies, but there should be no debate on the Liberation War, Bangladesh, and the Father of the Nation."

"In that case, if anyone takes a stand or expresses opinions against the spirit of the Liberation War, there is a saying that even though the wretch is a scholar, he is abandoned," Palak added.

Startup Bangladesh was supposed to disburse the funds to 10MS over the next few days, according to people informed with the proceedings.

Founded in 2015 by Sadiq and Abdullah Abyad Raied, 10MS provides content material for school curriculum and skills development. It also offers a video library, preparation tips, model tests, and pre-scheduled live classes for admission preparation, competitive examinations, and university courses.

Until yesterday, 10MS raised $7.5 million, including Tk 5 crore from Startup Bangladesh.