Foreign-Owned Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide)
Published by Kaz Software. Last reviewed November 11, 2026.
Many of the larger software teams in Dhaka work for a foreign parent company or were founded abroad. That changes how you buy from them: you may sign with a Swiss, Norwegian or American company and have the work done by engineers in Dhaka. This guide lists eight such companies from our Top 25 Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide) and explains what the structure means for contracts, data and support.
Editor's note: Kaz Software publishes this guide and lists itself where its work fits. The order follows our Top 25 Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide) and is editorial judgment, not a scored or audited ranking. Figures marked “self-reported” come from each company's own website and have not been independently verified.
Foreign-owned software companies in Bangladesh at a glance
Company | Home base | What happens in Dhaka | Best suited for |
SELISE Digital Platforms | Zurich, founded 2011 | Main engineering hub | Enterprises that want Swiss-managed platform delivery |
Cefalo Bangladesh | Oslo, founded 2010 | Delivery centre with dedicated developer teams | Nordic firms that want a long-running team of their own |
Dynamic Solution Innovators (DSi) | Redmond, US | Engineering centre (founded 2001, self-reported) | US product teams adding engineers |
REVE Systems | Singapore, founded 2003 | R&D centres in Bangladesh and India | Telecom operators and VoIP providers |
ReliSource | Boston area, US | Dhaka office, founded 2003 | Medical-device and connected-hardware companies |
Therap (BD) | US-based Therap Services | Development and operations hub | Care providers evaluating Therap's own software |
KONA Software Lab | Began as the Dhaka R&D centre of South Korea's KONA I | Payments and card technology | Banks and wallets building payments |
BJIT Group | Japanese-Bangladeshi joint venture, 2001 | Dhaka teams, with offices in seven more countries | Large dedicated teams; Japan-market work |
How we chose these eight
We took the companies in our main guide that were founded abroad, have a foreign parent or began as a foreign company's Dhaka centre. We left out captive R&D centres such as Samsung R&D Institute Bangladesh, because they do not take outside projects. We did not audit ownership; the structure shown is what each company or the press has published.
The eight companies
SELISE Digital Platforms
SELISE was founded in Zurich in 2011 and runs its main engineering hub in Dhaka. The Daily Star described it in 2016 as Swiss-owned with its headquarters in Switzerland and staff in Zurich, Dubai, Thimphu and Dhaka. It reports ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification and 700+ staff across eight locations (self-reported).
Cefalo Bangladesh
Cefalo is a Norwegian company, founded in Oslo in 2010, that recruits and manages dedicated development teams in Dhaka. It reports about 250 employees (self-reported). BTW Media reported that its Dhaka branch employs around 200 specialists, working full time for Norwegian clients on front end, back end, app design, testing and DevOps, with lower cost and cultural alignment as the reasons clients choose the model.
DSi, REVE Systems and ReliSource
DSi is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, with its engineering centre in Dhaka, and reports 300+ engineers (self-reported). REVE Systems is headquartered in Singapore with R&D centres in Bangladesh and India (per its About page) and sells telecom software. ReliSource, founded in 2003, has offices near Boston and in Dhaka and builds medical-device and healthcare software. See our Top Telecom, VoIP and Contact Centre Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026) and Top Healthcare Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026) for what each does.
Therap (BD) and KONA Software Lab
Therap (BD) is the development and operations hub of US-based Therap Services and builds Therap's own product, so it is not a project vendor. KONA Software Lab began in 2012 as the Dhaka R&D centre of South Korea's KONA I and now builds card and payments technology. Its work is covered in our Top Banking and Fintech Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026).
BJIT Group
BJIT started in 2001 as a Japanese-Bangladeshi joint venture. It reports offices in Japan, the US, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Singapore and Thailand and more than 750 engineers (self-reported). It is a first stop for companies that need large dedicated teams or work with Japanese partners.
The other direction: Bangladeshi companies with offices abroad
Foreign ownership is not the only way to get a front door in your time zone. Several Dhaka-founded companies in our Top 25 run offices abroad:
Company | Dhaka-founded | Offices abroad (self-reported) |
Kaz Software | 2004 | Bern, Switzerland |
Brain Station 23 | 2006 | Germany, Malaysia, the US, the UAE and Japan |
Vivasoft | 2016 | Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur and London (plus Rajshahi in Bangladesh) |
Riseup Labs | 2009 | New York, London and Dubai |
Technext | 2012 | Delaware, US |
What foreign ownership changes for you
Which legal entity signs the contract? The foreign parent or the Dhaka company. This affects tax, liability and which country's courts apply.
Which entity employs the engineers? Ask who the people doing the work report to, and who pays them.
Where is your data stored and processed, and which data-protection rules apply to it?
Does the company take outside clients? Therap and REVE mainly sell their own products. Cefalo, DSi and BJIT build for clients.
What overlap hours do you get? A team in Dhaka and a client in Oslo or Redmond share only part of the working day.
What happens to your team if the parent reorganises? Ask how long engineers usually stay on an account.
Dedicated team or project vendor
Companies such as Cefalo and DSi mostly place dedicated engineers in your team, which suits you if you manage the product and want people you can direct every day. A project vendor takes responsibility for scope, price and delivery, which suits you if you want a result rather than headcount. Our guide to Staff Augmentation Companies in Bangladesh: Who to Shortlist (2026) explains the difference in more detail. Kaz works both ways: it was founded in Dhaka and has a Swiss office.
Where this list fits
This is one of our shortlists by need. For the full field, see the Top 25 Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide), and for companies that take whole projects, read Best Software Outsourcing Companies in Bangladesh and Best Software Companies in Bangladesh for Startups and MVPs (2026).
Frequently asked questions
Which software companies in Bangladesh are foreign-owned?
SELISE (Swiss), Cefalo (Norwegian), DSi (US), REVE Systems (Singapore), ReliSource (US), Therap (US) and KONA Software Lab (South Korean origin) all have a foreign parent or origin, according to their own sites and press reports.
Is a foreign-owned company better than a local one?
Not automatically. Ownership changes the contract structure and the account management, not the quality of the code. Judge any company by references, certifications you can verify and a paid pilot.
Can I hire Cefalo's Dhaka developers directly?
Cefalo recruits and manages the developers itself and places them in dedicated teams for clients. Ask the company how it structures access and contracts.
Is Kaz Software foreign-owned?
No. Kaz Software was founded in Dhaka in 2004 and has an office in Bern, Switzerland.
Sources and company sites checked
Talk to Kaz Software
Weighing a foreign-managed team against a Dhaka-founded one? Tell us what you are building and we will say what fits. Contact Kaz Software.
Related reading: Top 25 Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide), Staff Augmentation Companies in Bangladesh: Who to Shortlist (2026), Biggest Software Companies in Bangladesh by Size and Exports (2026), Top 10 Software Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide), Top IT Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide) and Best Software Outsourcing Companies in Bangladesh (2026 Guide).
