Press Release
18 October, 2026, 07:00 pm
Last modified: 18 October, 2026, 07:02 pm
BRAC Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have partnered, with support from the Gates Foundation, to build a digital financing ecosystem that expands digital payments and access to formal credit for farmers and agricultural input retailers in Bangladesh.
Developed under FINNOVISION, BRAC Bank's impact-driven SME Innovation Lab, the two-year pilot will run until October 2028, aiming to reach 50,000 farmers and 1,500 agricultural input retailers, according to the press release.
The initiative will bring farmers and agricultural input retailers into the digital payments ecosystem. Their digital transaction histories will help assess creditworthiness and facilitate access to formal financing for individuals and businesses that have traditionally relied on informal sources of credit.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, IFPRI is a leading food policy research organisation and part of CGIAR, the global agricultural research partnership.
BRAC Bank and IFPRI will jointly design and deliver payment and credit solutions through the bank's digital platforms – Astha, Shafollo and Jibika – and its agent banking network.
IFPRI will lead impact research, including randomised evaluations, to identify the factors driving adoption and assess the approach's effectiveness and scalability. The findings will inform policymakers and help determine the potential for wider national adoption.
Syed Abdul Momen, additional managing director and head of SME banking at BRAC Bank, and Johan Swinnen, director general of IFPRI, signed the partnership agreement.
Md Shaheen Iqbal, CFA, additional managing director and head of wholesale banking at BRAC Bank, attended the signing. IFPRI was represented by Dr Kate Ambler, senior research fellow; Dr Moogdho Mahzab, country representative for Bangladesh; and Dr Mehrab Bakhtiar, research fellow and project lead.
Commenting on the initiative, Syed Abdul Momen said, "Farmers and small agricultural businesses are vital to the economy and food security, yet many continue to face barriers to accessing formal finance. By converting everyday digital transactions into a pathway to credit, we can help make their financial activities more visible and their creditworthiness easier to assess. The partnership will help bridge the gap between digital payment adoption and access to appropriate financing. The collaboration will help farmers and agricultural input retailers strengthen their businesses, manage working capital and pursue growth opportunities."
"This is a unique initiative that brings together a leading bank and world-class research to advance digital financial inclusion in Bangladesh," said Snigdha Ali, country programme officer at the Gates Foundation. "When a farmer's everyday digital payments can open the door to formal credit, it changes what is possible for their livelihood. We are proud to support a partnership built on evidence, with the potential to reach farmers across the country."
"Millions of farmers in Bangladesh still sit outside the formal financial system," said Dr Mehrab Bakhtiar. "Through this partnership, we will study how digital financial solutions change farmers' lives and what it takes to bring them fully into the digital financial ecosystem. Our goal is to produce evidence that turns a successful pilot into a national model for financing agriculture."