The EATL Innovation Hub Startup Pitch Contest 2026 has been launched at the hub's auditorium in Kaliakair Hi-Tech City, Gazipur, offering Tk 1 crore in total prizes across two categories.
Entries are sought for solutions to real social problems using artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies. Registration is through startups.eihlbd.com.
Idea Contest — Tk 25 lakh
For early-stage ideas:
- Champion — Tk 10 lakh
- First runner-up — Tk 5 lakh
- Second runner-up — Tk 3 lakh
- 4th and 5th combined — Tk 4 lakh
- 6th to 10th combined — Tk 3 lakh
Startup Contest — Tk 75 lakh
For established and growing startups:
- Champion — Tk 30 lakh
- First runner-up — Tk 20 lakh
- Second runner-up — Tk 10 lakh
- 4th and 5th combined — Tk 10 lakh
- 6th to 10th combined — Tk 5 lakh
The structure is the interesting part
Most pitch competitions concentrate the money at the top, which makes the prize a lottery and the event a showcase. This one pays down to tenth place in both tracks.
That is a meaningful design choice. Tk 3 lakh shared among places six to ten will not fund a company, but it covers the cost of having entered — and a contest that does not punish the teams who place respectably is one that more serious teams will enter next year.
Splitting idea-stage from growth-stage matters for the same reason. Judging a concept against a company with revenue is how early-stage tracks become uncompetitive and stop attracting entries.
Who is behind it
M A Mubin Khan, managing director of EATL, said that if Bangladesh's young talent is given direction, technical support and links to international markets, they can become employers and global entrepreneurs, and stressed building a sustainable startup ecosystem.
Nafiu Osi Warerhua Mohammed, co-founder of the Canada-based Nova Labs, said the firm will work with EATL in Bangladesh, drawing on its experience in data labelling, expert AI tasks and model evaluation.
Hosna Ferdous Sumi, team leader of the World Bank's PRIDE project, said the World Bank will continue supporting the startup ecosystem and that there are plans to bring international-standard accelerator programmes to the country.
Also present were Md Mokhtar Ali, vice-chancellor of the University of Frontier Technology Bangladesh; Nurul Hai, managing director and chief executive of Startup Bangladesh Ltd; Manjur Mohammad Shahriar, project director of the DEIED project; and Nafisa Khan, director of EATL Innovation Hub Ltd.
The contest is co-organised by the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority under the ICT Ministry's DEIED project, with National University as strategic academic partner, Startup Bangladesh Ltd as strategic and ecosystem partner, the ICT Industry Skills Council as skills partner, and Prothom Alo as association partner.
One thing to check before entering
The announcement does not state a closing date for registration. If you are preparing an entry, confirm the deadline on the site before building a submission around it — an opening-day announcement without a stated close is the most common way teams miss these.
The partners are the second prize
It is worth reading the partner list as part of the offer rather than as protocol. Startup Bangladesh Ltd is the state venture arm, the World Bank's PRIDE project is talking about bringing accelerator programmes into the country, and Nova Labs is a working AI firm looking for teams here. For a team that places fourth, the money is modest — but a pitch seen by those three in one room is worth more than Tk 4 lakh, and that is the part of entering that does not appear in the prize table.
