Meet the Startup Founders of Cohort 12: Their 1-Minute Pitches, Big Visions & Why Investors Should Pay Attention
At Accelerating Asia, we’re obsessed with one thing: backing high-grit founders solving real problems across the world’s most dynamic emerging markets. Cohort 12 is no exception.
From AI-powered credit intelligence to livestock biometrics, digital claim recovery, and next-generation learning systems — these founders are building solutions with massive market pull and undeniable momentum.
To give them more visibility and help them attract investors, angels, and mentors, we captured each founder’s one-minute elevator pitch. Below is a deep dive into each startup, why their work matters, and why we believe they represent the next wave of breakout companies in South and Southeast Asia.
Want to Meet the Founders?
If you’re an investor, angel, mentor, or ecosystem partner, we’d love to connect you with the Cohort 12 startups.
1. Chamak (Bangladesh): Unlocking Fast, Automated Trade Finance
In Bangladesh, 95% of B2B financing is still manual, slow, and expensive — forcing businesses to wait 45–60 days for approval and pay high processing and interest fees.
Chamak is changing that narrative.
Their automated, AI-driven trade-finance platform approves requests in just 60 seconds using a pay-as-you-go model. Founder Debasish, who brings 12 years of banking and trade finance experience, has already deployed $2M+ with a 70% gross margin — an early signal of strong product-market fit in a $7.5B category.
Chamak is now raising $500K to scale toward $10M in disbursements, building a future where business financing is as fast and simple as sending money online.
2. biniyog.io (Bangladesh): Shariah-Compliant SME Financing at Scale
With 10 million SMEs in Bangladesh and 87% unable to access formal financing, the country faces a $60B+ SME credit gap.
biniyog.io is tackling this head-on.
Their marketplace connects SMEs to retail investors, offering collateral-free, Shariah-compliant financing. Bootstrapped from day one, biniyog.io has served 250+ SMEs, grown 10× in two years, and achieved profitability — processing $5M+ annually.
Co-founder Shabab is raising $300K (already 60% subscribed) to make underwriting 3× faster and hit $1M ARR in the next 12 months.
3. Fineksi (Indonesia): AI That Prevents Bad Lending Decisions
Southeast Asia loses $28B annually to non-performing loans — a crisis escalating 9% every year.
Fineksi is delivering an AI-powered credit intelligence solution that stops bad credit decisions before they happen.
With clients like Permata Bank and Hana Bank, the team has already delivered a 30% reduction in NPLs, achieved $20K MRR, and grown consistently for six months. CEO Yawin and his co-founder combine deep banking and tech experience to tackle one of the most expensive inefficiencies in finance.
Fineksi is raising $500K to scale their AI engine and reach $1M ARR.
4. InsureCow (Bangladesh): AI Biometrics for Livestock Financing
Farmers across South Asia struggle to access fair credit and insurance — not because the market doesn’t exist, but because livestock assets are impossible to verify.
Enter InsureCow and Muzzle Printometry™, their proprietary AI biometric system that creates a digital identity for each cow. This unlocks insurance, loans, and health records in one seamless flow.
The startup has already generated $900K+ revenue, grown 16% month-on-month, and proven its model in Bangladesh. CEO Tasvir and his team are raising $500K to scale to 35,000 farmers by mid-2026 and build the world’s first livestock-backed financial ecosystem.
5. Kustodian.life (India): Recovering Money Lost in Bureaucracy
India has made investing easy — UPI, Zerodha, and Groww have democratized access.
But claiming your own money remains painfully difficult.
Over $100B is stuck in pension accounts, banks, insurance, and government systems today. Kustodian is building the digital layer that helps families retrieve what’s already theirs — without drowning in paperwork or waiting months for updates.
In just 18 months, founders Harsh and Kunal have helped 3,500+ families reclaim $3M, reached $200K ARR, and grown profitably through referrals.
They’re raising $300K to scale claim categories, partnerships, and move toward $2.5M annualized revenue.
6. InLustro (India): AI Job Simulations for Workforce Readiness
Companies spend $4–9K per hire, lose months of productivity, and watch half of new hires churn within a year.
InLustro solves this with simulated, high-fidelity work environments powered by AI.
Think: A flight simulator for real jobs.
Corporates and universities use InLustro to train employees and students in real tools and workflows — cutting ramp-up time and attrition by half. With over $250K paid revenue, 3–4× YoY growth, and simulations across BFSI, IT, and more, founders Aditya and team are building the infrastructure for how the world learns to work.
They’re raising $300K to expand their simulation library and reach $1M ARR.
7. Podium (Singapore): A Peer Discovery Platform for Working Women
Career transitions often come with a hidden cost: isolation.
That insight led founders Alka and Mai to create Podium — a curated peer-support platform designed for ambitious women navigating career moves, relocations, leadership shifts, or new life stages.
In only nine months, Podium has:
Grown to 400+ paying members
Crossed $100K ARR
Achieved 9.1 CSAT
Scaled entirely via referrals and bootstrapped execution
They’re raising $300K (80% soft committed) to expand regionally and build the next global social health platform.
8. Wellspring Global (Bangladesh): Building the Next Big FMCG Brand
Bangladesh’s middle class is growing rapidly — and they want better food and drink choices without changing their daily habits.
Wellspring Global is filling this gap with high-quality, affordable FMCG products designed for emerging-market consumers.
In just eight months, they’ve hit:
35% month-over-month growth
90% repeat sales
Distribution across 6,000+ retail stores
Led by CEO Rashed, a two-time FMCG CEO with 20 years of experience, the company is raising $500K ($200K committed) to scale inventory, sales, and marketing — targeting 12× growth in the next 9 months.
Why Cohort 12 Matters
Each Cohort 12 company sits at the intersection of huge markets, real-world pain points, and founder insight — the core ingredients of our investment philosophy. From empowering underserved communities to building the infrastructure for future industries, these founders are pushing the region forward.
Their 1-minute pitches are just a glimpse into the scale of the impact they’re creating.
