B Combinator: the group starts backing founders

Bamanovation — the group BamBite belongs to — has opened B Combinator, a startup accelerator for founders building in Myanmar and Southeast Asia. Twice a year it takes a small batch of early-stage teams and spends twelve weeks with them.

Why a restaurant is telling you this

Because BamBite is what the group has already done. Two kitchens, a till, a delivery network, a members' programme, a supply chain that reaches Mandalay — none of it was bought in, and all of it took the ordinary years it takes. A founder in the batch gets to use that rather than build their own version of it first.

What a batch gets

Seed funding on founder-friendly terms, sized to reach the next milestone. Weekly one-to-one time with people who have run companies in Myanmar, Thailand and the UK. The group's operating infrastructure — kitchens, retail sites, logistics, back office. Distribution and first customers from day one. And the company set up properly at the start: incorporation, cap table, shareholder agreements.

It ends in a room, not a report

Every batch closes with a Demo Day in front of the group's investors and partners, and the strongest teams are backed again afterwards.

Who it is for

Anyone building something that can be built from Yangon, Mandalay or Bangkok. The programme works in English, Burmese and Thai, and that is the point rather than a courtesy — a founder should be able to pitch in the language they think in.

If that is you, or someone you know

The application is short, every one is read, and every founder gets a reply. One straight conversation follows, about the team, the product and the market. Applications for the next batch are open now.