Young entrepreneurs are exploring innovative ways to address challenges in Bangladesh's agrifood sector, as a startup initiative brought together emerging innovators to develop solutions for the country's food and agricultural systems.
The Bootcamp Round of “Innovators’ Brew Season II: Youth Agri Startup Olympiad” was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Bangladesh and the World Food Forum (WFF) Bangladesh Chapter at Sheraton Dhaka.
Inspired by the 2026 World Food Day theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow,” the initiative aims to harness young people's creativity, entrepreneurial potential and technological capabilities to advance more inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
The Olympiad received nearly 90 applications from young agripreneurs across the country, presenting practical, scalable and inclusive solutions. Following a competitive evaluation process, 20 promising teams were selected to participate in the Bootcamp Round, where they presented their startup ideas and business solutions to a panel of experts from FAO and leading agritech startups.
Each team delivered a 4-minute pitch, followed by a 6-minute question-and-answer session. The panel assessed the solutions based on innovation, feasibility, scalability and potential impact on the agrifood sector.
ImanunNabi Khan, Assistant FAO Representative in Bangladesh, delivered the welcome remarks, emphasizing the role of young people in transforming the country's agrifood systems through innovation and entrepreneurship.
He encouraged young people to explore opportunities across the agricultural value chain and develop solutions to address challenges related to food security, nutrition and sustainability.
A panel of experts and industry leaders from the agrifood and innovation sectors evaluated the participating teams' solutions.
The panel included Imtiaz Farhan bin Habib, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Agronochain; Diptha Saha, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Agroshift; Surajit Sarkar, National Mechanization Specialist at FAO; and Mohammod Arif Hossain, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Expert at FAO.
Md Monjurul Alam, National Senior Precision Agriculture and Technical Advisor at FAO, chaired the session.
Dia Sanou, Deputy FAO Representative in Bangladesh, delivered the closing address, encouraging young innovators to view agriculture as a dynamic sector offering opportunities beyond traditional farming, including technology, agribusiness, processing, logistics and digital services.
The Bootcamp Round will select the top teams to present their solutions to a panel of judges at a High-Level Dialogue Forum in November 2026. The forum will recognize the top 3 teams and offer them opportunities to integrate, incubate and scale their innovations through innovation hubs under FAO Bangladesh's ongoing portfolio.
Through Innovators’ Brew Season II, FAO and the WFF Bangladesh Chapter aim to strengthen youth participation in agrifood innovation and entrepreneurship, creating opportunities for young people to drive agricultural transformation and contribute to the future of Bangladesh's food systems.
By connecting young innovators with experts, stakeholders and potential incubation opportunities, the initiative seeks to turn promising ideas into viable enterprises that can generate employment, strengthen agrifood value chains and contribute to sustainable development.
