BRAC Bank, IFPRI to expand digital farm financing

BRAC Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have partnered to expand digital payments and access to formal credit for farmers and agricultural input retailers in Bangladesh, with support from the Gates Foundation.

The two-year pilot, running until October 2028, aims to reach 50,000 farmers and 1,500 agricultural input retailers. It will use digital transaction histories to assess creditworthiness and help participants access formal financing, reducing their reliance on informal sources of credit.

The initiative has been developed under FINNOVISION, BRAC Bank’s SME Innovation Lab focused on impact-driven innovation.

The bank and IFPRI will jointly develop payment and credit solutions through BRAC Bank’s digital platforms — Astha, Shafollo and Jibika — as well as its agent banking network.

IFPRI will lead impact research, including randomised evaluations, to identify factors influencing adoption and assess the effectiveness and scalability of the approach. The findings will help inform policymakers and guide potential expansion nationwide.

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. BRAC Bank Additional Managing Director and Head of Wholesale Banking Md Shaheen Iqbal was also present, along with IFPRI researchers and officials, including Bangladesh Country Representative Moogdho Mahzab.

Momen said many farmers and small agricultural businesses still face barriers to formal financing despite their vital role in the economy and food security.

He said using digital transactions to establish creditworthiness could help farmers and agricultural retailers access financing, manage working capital and expand their businesses.

Snigdha Ali, country programme officer at the Gates Foundation, said the initiative could help connect everyday digital payments with formal credit access and improve farmers’ livelihoods.

IFPRI Research Fellow and project lead Mehrab Bakhtiar said the research would examine how digital financial solutions affect farmers and identify ways to bring them into the formal financial system. The goal is to develop evidence that could help turn the pilot into a national model for agricultural financing.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, IFPRI is a food policy research organisation and a member of CGIAR, a global agricultural research partnership.