Unilever, UK Govt, EY grant BDT 20 million to Bangladeshi climate startups

TRANSFORM, an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK Government and EY, announced grants of up to BDT 10 million each for two Bangladeshi SMEs today. The grant winners, selected from 50+ applicants, offer novel solutions promoting climate resilience.  

Deshifarmer is an agri-tech platform that supports smallholder farmers struggling to access the market and facing high levels of food waste. Its end-to-end solutions connect farmers directly to consumers, cutting out intermediaries and increasing farmers' income, while ensuring safe, traceable food products for consumers. TRANSFORM's support will be pivotal in scaling the enterprise's initiatives, promoting climate-smart agriculture on a larger scale and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Deshifarmer aims to benefit 3,000 farmers and 20,000 consumers in its first year working with TRANSFORM.

Techno Plastic Solution tackles ocean plastic pollution by increasing collection infrastructure in coastal communities and empowering its members with training and efficient collection equipment. With TRANSFORM's help, the enterprise will launch a pilot programme in Kuakata to target discarded fishing nets and PET bottles specifically. It is projected to collect as much as 100 tonnes of plastic waste monthly.

Launched in October 2023, the Bangladesh Climate Challenge is an initiative to identify and support enterprises working on climate resilience. In addition to grant funding, TRANSFORM supports visionary enterprises in scaling their solutions through business insights, practical experiences, resources, and networks.

This is the first time that Unilever, the UK Government and EY have worked together locally in Bangladesh to find and select entrepreneurs for the programme. It follows similar initiatives that TRANSFORM recently ran in India and East Africa.

Raviraj Durwas, South Asia Lead at TRANSFORM, Hindustan Unilever, said:

"Local impact enterprises, with on-the-ground knowledge and insights, are uniquely positioned to address their regional challenges. Therefore, it was important to us at TRANSFORM that we worked with the SAJIDA Foundation and British Asian Trust to find the best innovators from local communities that we otherwise might not have access to. Fuelling their efforts with financial support, mentorship and supply chain access is how we can drive meaningful social and environmental change."

Sarah Iqbal, Head of Impact Partners at the SAJIDA Foundation said:

We are delighted to have partnered with TRANSFORM and the British Asian Trust to catalyse real change in Bangladesh. We look forward to seeing how the grantees scale their business and impact,

Marjan Nur, Climate and Environment Adviser at British High Commission Dhaka said: 

"As a major development partner, we know that we cannot achieve the ambitious UN SDG goals with aid alone. We need cross-sector collaboration that draws on the best of our resources, networks and know-how. Equally important, we must ensure decision-making is put in the hands of local champions who understand the local context best. This Challenge exemplifies our efforts to do both."

Pragyal Singh, Consulting Partner, at EY India said:

"Social enterprises hold some of the best ideas to drive systematic change and progress against the UN SDGs; and believe that holistic support via funding and business consultancy is key to scaling their impact. TRANSFORM was established to leverage the power of public-private collaboration and do just that for Deshifarmer and Techno Plastic Solution. We look forward to seeing how they can improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region and tackle ocean plastic pollution."

Eshrat Waris, Bangladesh Director from the British Asian Trust said:

"Following its agenda of climate resilience, the British Asian Trust is proud to support TRANSFORM in unlocking Bangladesh's circular economy potential with innovative, local solutions."

TRANSFORM has supported 10 other enterprises in Bangladesh, reaching over three million lives. This includes  Bhumijo an impact enterprise dedicated to providing hygienic public toilets and wash facilities for all, serving over 7,000 people a day; who are designing and piloting a scalable refill station distribution model to counteract the problem of plastic pollution caused by single-use sachets.