Chaldal

Chaldal (Bengali: চালডাল, lit. 'rice-dal') is Bangladesh's largest online grocery e-commerce platform, founded in September 2013 by Waseem Alim, Zia Ashraf, and Tejas Viswanath. The name "Chaldal" is a Bengali word colloquially used to refer to groceries — Chal means rice and Dal means pulses. Headquartered in Dhaka, Chaldal operates a network of dark-store warehouses across seven Bangladeshi cities and serves millions of customers through its website and Android/iOS apps.

🚀 Founding Story

Chaldal was founded by Waseem Alim (CEO), Zia Ashraf (COO), and Tejas Viswanath (CTO). The company initially started with one warehouse/office in Gulshan, Dhaka, while offering next-day delivery. When Chaldal launched in Dhaka in 2013, it first picked up orders from local grocery stores, but most retailers in the city are very small and Chaldal was unable to guarantee items would be available for its customers. As a result, the company pivoted to building its own network of warehouses — becoming one of the first grocery delivery startups in the world to use the "dark store" model, picking up orders from its own warehouses instead of retail stores.

Chaldal is a Y Combinator alum and was ranked 9th in the world's best 500 startups by Forbes Magazine's startup assister Y Combinator in 2015.

💰 Investment History

Chaldal has attracted significant international and domestic investment across multiple rounds:

• 🏦 2014 — First funding round (Seed)
• 🌍 August 2017 — International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group — up to $3 million investment
• 💵 2018 — $4.5 million fresh funding round
• 🚀 September 2021 — Series C: $10 million led by Taavet Hinrikus (co-founder of Wise), Sten Tamkivi (Topia CPO), Xploration Capital, with participation from Mir Group
• 🇧🇩 August 2022 — Series C Plus: BDT 5 crore (~$441K) from Startup Bangladesh Limited, co-led with Taavet+Sten
• 💼 June 2024 — Series C: $170K from Bangladesh Venture Capital

As of 2025, Chaldal has raised approximately $39 million in total funding across multiple rounds. The company claims its core grocery operations have been profitable for an extended period, and only invests cash in building its technology or launching new verticals.

📱 Services & Operations

Chaldal operates in seven cities across Bangladesh: Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Jashore, Khulna, Sylhet, and Rajshahi, as well as Gazipur. As of February 2022, the company operates 28 active warehouses. Customers can order through the website, Android/iOS apps, or by phone, and can choose their preferred delivery time slots.

Chaldal's sub-brands and initiatives include:

• 🛒 BanglaMeds — Direct-to-consumer pharmacy
• 🍳 Cookups — Home-cooked food marketplace
• 🚚 GoGo Bangla — On-demand logistics for small e-commerce businesses
• 🥬 Chaldal Vegetable Network — Connects farmers directly to retailers
• 📦 Chalao — Delivery service

In 2021, Chaldal claimed to have generated $40 million in revenue and performed 2.5 million orders over the past 12 months, growing about 120% year over year. The company sells about 8,500 kinds of products and sources produce directly from farms while partnering with large manufacturers like Unilever. Chaldal also supported over 140,000 refugees at Cox's Bazar in partnership with the World Food Programme.

🏆 Recognition

• 🥇 Forbes/Y Combinator 9th in World's Best 500 Startups (2015)
• 🏆 The Daily Star E-Business of the Year 2017
• 🌟 FT/IFC Transformation Business Award 2018 — Finalist
• 💻 Digital World 2020 — Best E-Commerce Company of the Year (for serving customers loyally during COVID-19)

👥 Key People

• 👔 Waseem Alim — Founder & CEO (original founder, still leading)
• ⚙️ Mahbub M M Muntasin — COO
• 🔧 Rezaur Rahman Jitu — CTO

The company employs over 2,300 people (as of 2023) and continues to expand its operations across Bangladesh.