Bonik, a mobile app that enables SMEs to launch their e-commerce store within minutes, has raised its pre-seed investment of $47,000 from prominent angel investor Mohammad Maaz, managing director of Steeltech Industries Limited. This news announced by DHS Ventures & Holdings.
Maaz has invested in many other startups including Gaze, Markopolo, Loop, and Munchies to name a few, reads a press release.Bonik has been founded by young entrepreneurs Salman Saafi (CEO), Jonayed Tanjim (COO) and Atikur Rahaman (CTO).
Bonik is being built at the point of the e-commerce boom in SMEs. Due to skyrocketing internet penetration and digital adoption brought by the Covid pandemic, consumer behaviour has been shifting and more and more people are now shopping online than ever.
Hence, Bonik aims to simplify e-commerce for small businesses in emerging economies like Bangladesh with no-code, mobile-first tools to let them create, run and grow online without thinking to manage technology.
"This is the first startup investment in Chittagong. Though Dhaka's startup ecosystem has been rising for a while with more than 80 startups that raised investments, we are excited to become the flag bearer of the ecosystem in Chittagong, and we firmly believe the scene will be changing in the coming days.
The investment raised will be deployed to build the product with more functionality and better user experience, as well as hiring talents in the team to reach its userbase across the country," said Salman Saafi, founder and CEO of Bonik.
Bonik is a simple, yet powerful tool for small merchants who run their businesses mainly through Facebook and Instagram pages, and don't have their own e-commerce website yet.