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Two Bangladeshi small and medium-sized enterprises, Deshifarmer and Techno Plastic Solutions, have been selected to receive up to Tk 10 million each in funding to scale their work and impact.

Transform, an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the United Kingdom government and EY, invited impact enterprises, that promote circularity and climate resilience in Bangladesh, to apply to its climate challenge for scale-up funding and support. The challenge was in collaboration with the Climate Innovation Fund by the SAJIDA Foundation and the British Asian Trust.

Transform has supported 10 other enterprises in Bangladesh, reaching over three million people in the country.

Launched in October 2023, the Bangladesh Climate Challenge is an initiative aimed at identifying and supporting enterprises working on climate resilience.

In addition to grant funding, Transform supports visionary enterprises to scale their solutions through a combination of 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 in a unique position 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’re 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 in Dhaka, said, ‘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.’

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; and Refill Bangladesh by Bopinc, who are designing and piloting a scalable refill station distribution model to counteract the problem of plastic pollution caused by single-use sachets.

Globally, Transform has supported over 125 enterprise projects across 17 countries and reached over 18 million lives.