Bank of Maldives Announces Winners of Startup Grant 2025

Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced the winners of its Startup Grant 2025, an initiative aimed at supporting emerging entrepreneurs with financial assistance to start or expand their businesses. Each selected recipient will receive a grant of MVR 500,000.

Rashi Park – Ibrahim Miflal Fayaz

Rashi Park is a project to establish an indoor children’s play park and family café in Addu City, Feydhoo. The facility will be the first of its kind in Addu, featuring a professionally designed multi-level play gym with slides, tunnels, a ball pit, and a toddler-safe play area. The space will also include a parents’ lounge café offering refreshments, free Wi-Fi, and clear sightlines into the play zones.

Rashu Plastic Project – Mohamed Mimrah

Rashu Plastic Project focuses on transforming plastic waste into practical and sustainable products. The initiative involves collecting and recycling discarded plastics to produce innovative, market-ready items such as clocks, keychains, sunglasses, and other products. The recycling setup for the project will be established in V. Felidhoo.

Ladybird Kindergarten – Shamma Nadheem

Ladybird Kindergarten aims to establish an Islamic Early Learning Station in Hulhumalé Phase 2. The project is designed to provide high-quality, faith-based early childhood education for children aged three to six, integrating Islamic values with play-based learning and national curriculum standards to meet the growing demand for structured early education.

The winners were selected through a two-stage competitive evaluation process. In the first stage, applications were reviewed to shortlist the 10 most promising proposals. The shortlisted candidates then presented their business plans to the evaluation committee in the second round.

Traditionally, two winners are selected each year to receive the Startup Grant. However, to mark the 10th anniversary of BML Islamic, a third winner was selected this year. The 2025 edition also marks the fourth consecutive year Bank of Maldives has awarded the Startup Grant to support aspiring businesses across the country.