Holiday Post Report: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (DSIK), recently brought together startups, public institutions, market actors and development partners in Dhaka at the Innovatech Bangladesh Demo Day, marking the close of the programme's first cycle in Asia. Innovatech, financed by IFAD and the European Union and implemented by Sparkassenstiftung, helps startups adapt, validate and strengthen digital solutions for small-scale farmers. In Bangladesh, two agritech startups, Agronochain and Krishi Shwapno, tested their solutions in the field alongside projects financed by IFAD and the Government of Bangladesh, working with the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). At the Demo Day, the two startups presented their implementation journeys, results and lessons, followed by an ecosystem panel on what needs to align across institutions, market actors and financing for solutions that work in rural Bangladesh to continue beyond a pilot and reach more fDayRelease: IFADarmers.

“Transforming rural Bangladesh at the scale needed demands strong partnerships between government, innovators and the private sector,” said Valantine Achancho, IFAD Country Director for Bangladesh. “Programmes like Innovatech complement public investment by bringing practical, market-driven solutions to rural communities. By testing new ideas and reducing investment risks, they help promising innovations grow into solutions that deliver lasting benefits for smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs,” he added.

“Rural areas do not need technology for technology’s sake. They need solutions that address a specific problem, work under the real conditions faced by producers and remain relevant after the project ends. At Innovatech, we start with demand and then bring startups and producers together so that solutions are adapted to the people who will actually use them,” said Christina Olsen, Director of Innovatech.  The panel discussions underlined that technology alone is rarely the main constraint. Moving from pilot to scale depends on real demand from rural communities, institutions willing to adopt, viable business models, access to markets and a clear pathway for financing and ownership once project support ends, with the private sector engaged as a full partner. Bangladesh is part of Innovatech 2.0, which between 2024 and 2026 gave more than 32,000 rural households in Bangladesh, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru access to digital solutions developed by 15 tech startups, helping them connect to markets and financial services, manage their crops, strengthen traceability and adopt more sustainable practices. says press release

The programme connected these companies with 811 rural organizations, with nearly 17,000 women and more than 11,300 young people taking part, and two out of every three participating producer organizations adopted agroecological practices. Across both editions, Innovatech has supported around 30 startups whose solutions have benefited more than 50,000 rural households.