Online grocery platform Chaldal has raised Tk 5 crore in funding from Startup Bangladesh, the first government-backed and flagship venture capital fund. 

Startup Bangladesh has co-led the latest series of fundraising with Taavet+Sten, a venture capital fund, according to a statement issued yesterday.

Earlier in 2021, Chaldal raised an undisclosed amount of funds from Startup Bangladesh, which had invested Tk 15 crore in seven local startups.

The latest funding could give a boost to Chaldal, which expanded to different cities in tune with its pandemic period growth. Its growth has slowed as the economy opened up and people resumed visiting physical shops on a full scale, said industry people.

"I am glad to see that Chaldal, through their ideas and innovation with technology, are playing a critical role in addressing the market needs and contributing to developing products and services that can be accessible and affordable for all," said State Minister of ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

Bangladesh holds the most promising opportunity for venture capital and private equity investments for the startup industry in the region, he said.

"Startup Bangladesh is investing in startups that are contributing to our national achievement through their crucial and essential solutions towards building a Smart Bangladesh," he added.

"Chaldal is one of the pioneers in the industry and an example for others to follow. The company was a part of the first batch of our investments and since then has grown tremendously year-on-year," Sami Ahmed, managing director at Startup Bangladesh.

"We are immensely proud of our relationship with Startup Bangladesh. Having been one of the companies from the first batch in which Startup Bangladesh invested, they have also supported us with follow-on investments in our previous rounds," Waseem Alim, managing director at Chaldal.

"I believe with this fund we will be able to expand our operations further and venture into logistics, online pharmacy, and payments. Chaldal is wholly focused on Bangladesh and its future," he said.

Chaldal started its journey back in 2014 and was founded by Waseem Alim, Zia Ashraf, and Tejas Viswanath.

Currently, it delivers around 10,000 orders per day and serves around half a million families every year operating from 32 warehouses located in Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Jashore, Khulna, Sylhet and Rajshahi.

Chaldal is the single largest employer in the hi-tech parks in Bangladesh, employing around 3,000 people.

According to Crunchbase, a platform that provides investments and funding information, Chaldal has raised a total of $24.8 million in funding over five rounds.

However, Crunchbase's estimate did not include the latest round of funding.