Dhaka, April 7 -- Bangladesh Bank is setting up an equity fund of around Tk 9 billion with assistance from commercial banks to inject capital into promising startup ventures, according to Governor Ahsan H Mansur.

Speaking at the Investment Summit in Dhaka on Monday, he said the decision was made after a discussion with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).

"We decided to form a fund of Tk 8-9 billion, basically with contributions from commercial banks. They will be the owners of that equity. This money will be used only as equity investments in promising startups," he said.

The fund could be launched within a week, he said.

"I thought it [the fund] would be active by now. But as I was in London -- and also because of...