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Establishing and enhancing veterinary surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
This project aims to help establish effective surveillance for longer term capacity building for AMR in the terrestrial and aquatic veterinary sectors in selected LMICs, and to enhance veterinary medicines regulatory training.
Ocean Country Partnership Programme
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
The Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) supports countries to manage the marine environment more sustainably, including by strengthening marine science expertise, developing science-based policy and management tools and creating educational resources for coastal communities. The programme is funded through official development assistance (ODA) as part of the UK’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund. Through the OCPP, the UK government partners with ODA-eligible countries to deliver positive impacts for coastal communities that depend on healthy marine ecosystems. Bilateral partnerships under the OCPP are primarily delivered by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), agencies of the UK government that possess unique expertise in marine science and management. The OCPP also funds two international initiatives that align with its aims and help to develop global public goods, the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) and the Friends of Ocean Action (FOA). GOAP is a global, multi-stakeholder partnership established to enable countries and other stakeholders to effectively measure and manage progress towards sustainable ocean development. FOA is a platform hosted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the World Resources Institute, which brings together ocean leaders from a wide range of sectors to encourage action and investment into sustainable ocean projects. GOAP and FOA are both strategic partners of the OCPP, and are funded by the Blue Planet Fund (BPF). They do however remain independent organisations from OCPP, BPF, and Defra. Their work, and its intended outcomes and impacts, are strategically aligned with the OCPP and complement its programming in bilateral partnerships. GOAP and FOA were originally developed as separate business cases under the BPF, then in 2022 introduced as integrated components under OCPP to provide a clearer overall BPF offer to recipient countries. The investment to GOAP supports ODA-eligible countries to develop 'ocean accounts' to more accurately and comprehensively capture data on the natural capital assets contained within their oceans. Using this data - and through further technical, advisory, and capacity building support - GOAP aims to ensure that biodiversity is valued and integrated into policy making, decision making, and infrastructure investments in these countries, resulting in the inclusive and sustainable use and management of the ocean. An initial investment of £1million was awarded to GOAP in FY 2021/2. Following good performance in year one, a further £6million of investment was awarded, split evenly over FY's 2022/3, 23/4, and 24/5; giving a total of £7million. From December 2023, following evidence of strong value for money, this investment has since been uplifted to a total of £14.2million, involving new and expanded scope for certain activities, as well as extending the strategic partnership into FY 2025/6. FOA is a multi-stakeholder platform hosted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the World Resources Institute, which brings together ocean leaders from a wide range of sectors to encourage action and investment into sustainable ocean projects. FOA, working closely with the High Level Panel for Sustainable Ocean Economy, aims to mobilise ocean leaders to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. Through OCPP the investment supports pillars of FOA's work that strategically align with OCPP's own outcomes. There was an initial investment of £1million to FOA in FY 2021/2. After FOA performed well against investment and performance criteria in year one, a further investment of £2million was awarded in both FY's 2022/3 and 2023/4; rounding total investment for FOA to £5million.
Global Programme on Sustainability
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
The programme supports sustainable economic growth that is both long-lasting and resilient to climate-related stressors. It does this through the integration of natural capital into decision making by governments, the private sector and financial institutions. The inability to value natural capital can undermine long-term growth and critically, the livelihoods of the poorest people dependent on ecosystems for their livelihoods. This programme directly addresses this challenge by (i) investing in data and research on natural capital; (ii) assisting countries to integrate this analysis into government policy making; and (iii) integrating this data and analysis into financial sector decision making.
Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a widespread and lucrative criminal activity causing major global environmental and social harm. The IWT has been estimated to be worth up to £17 billion a year. Nearly 6,000 different species of fauna and flora are impacted, with almost every country in the world playing a role in the illicit trade. The UK government is committed to tackling illegal trade of wildlife products and is a long-standing leader in efforts to eradicate the IWT. Defra manages the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, which is a competitive grants scheme with the objective of tackling IWT and, in doing so, contributing to sustainable development in developing countries. Projects funded under the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund address one, or more, of the following themes: • Developing sustainable livelihoods to benefit people directly affected by IWT, • Strengthening law enforcement, • Ensuring effective legal frameworks, • Reducing demand for IWT products. By 2023 over £51 million has been committed to 157 projects since the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund was established in 2013. This page contains information about Rounds 7 onwards. For information about Rounds 1 to 6, please see the IWTCF website -https://iwt.challengefund.org.uk/
Darwin Initiative
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
The Darwin Initiative is the UK’s flagship international challenge fund for biodiversity conversation and poverty reduction, established at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The Darwin Initiative is a grant scheme working on projects that aim to slow, halt, or reverse the rates of biodiversity loss and degradation, with associated reductions in multidimensional poverty. To date, the Darwin Initiative has awarded more than £195m to over 1,280 projects in 159 countries to enhance the capability and capacity of national and local stakeholders to deliver biodiversity conservation and multidimensional poverty reduction outcomes in low and middle-income countries. More information at https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/the-darwin-initiative. This page contains information about Rounds 27 onwards. For information about Rounds 1 to 26, please see the Darwin Initiative website -https://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/
Infertility and Assisted Reproduction as violent experiences for Women in Bangladesh: Arts-based Intervention to Address GBV (Arts for I-ARTs)
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
This project aims to redefine the understanding of what constitutes violence in the cultural context of Bangladesh and frame it within the domain of reproductive justice. Given the deep social and cultural silence around this topic, the project is timely and needed. It proposes evidence-based, culturally sensitive art interventions co-developed with women who have experienced infertility and undergone ART treatment. The interventions will include art therapy, theatre performances, documentary films, and art exhibitions utilizing the products of art therapy and media narratives of ARTs to capture the (un)intentional GBV perpetuation. Bangladesh is in the DAC list of ODA Recipients document as a ‘least developed country’ and will directly benefit through our research. The main development challenges for Bangladesh are sustaining positive economic growth and accelerating poverty reduction.
SMART-SIP+ - Innovative approaches to downstream energy utilisation from solar irrigation pumps in Bangladesh
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
The Aim of this project is to drive forward a large-scale clean energy transition in rural communities in Bangladesh through the design, development and demonstration of smart energy systems which exploit the excess electricity from Solar Irrigation Pumps (SIPs). Context: People/Place: Bangladesh is ranked 7th in the Climate Risk Index 60% of the population (c.100M people) rely on agriculture as their main income source. Intensification of irrigation practices: Allows an additional rice crop (55% of total) to be grown during the dry season (Jan-May). 6M irrigation pumps are used including 1.2M tube-wells powered by diesel engines consuming 1MT/yr imported diesel, emitting 3MT of CO2 (c.4% of Bangladesh’s annual gross emission) Replacement of diesel pumps with SIPs provides a critical route to reliable distributed clean energy. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), supported by key state organisations, propose a roadmap to deliver 45,000 SIPs replacing 200,000 diesel pumps by 2031. SIPs are sized to provide sufficient water during peak irrigation demand (100-150 days per year), so only 40 to 60% of the potential electricity generation of the panels is required for irrigation. The ADB report estimates that the 45,000 replacement SIPs will produce 480GWH/yr of surplus electricity. The current recommended method for utilisation of excess electricity is export to grid, but this often requires expensive grid extension, connection and metering. Post-harvest storage/ processing of crops: Fruit and vegetable production is c.17MT/yr, but post-harvest losses range from 25-40%, whilst farmers obtain a poor price due to surplus supply during peak seasons. Both can be alleviated by the availability of cold storage facilities; however, these are limited in Bangladesh owing to high capex/ energy costs. Additional processing of cereals, fruit and vegetables can add value and reduce losses (milling, drying, juicing), but require energy. These factors present a clear opportunity to leverage the excess electricity from SIPs and utilise it locally and smartly to support agriculture and rural communities. The challenge is that techno-economically validated pathways to seize this opportunity are currently not available to potential users (farmers), operators, investors and policymakers. To meet this challenge our project has the following objectives: Capture demand and supply requirements around SIP locations and their local communities into a structured knowledge base. Address key questions surrounding the design, sizing, and smart operation of farm-based microgrids powered by SIP systems. Tailor system solutions to unique local conditions. Provide socio-technical, techno-economic and Life Cycle Assessments of proposed solutions. Build Decision Support Systems and physical field testing and demonstration sites to enable investors/ decision makers to explore the nature and scale of the opportunity and drive strategic innovation, investment, and policy. Build capacity, capability, and resilience within rural communities by co-creating and co-delivering solutions that ensure equitable access to energy and economic development opportunities. Ayrton Challenges – Super Efficient Demand/ Smart Delivery/ Smart Energy Systems/ Sustainable Cooling/ Inclusive Energy Applications/ Benefits: Results/lessons from this work will also inform solarisation of the >10M diesel irrigation pumps that are currently operated in other Southern Asian countries. Bangladesh is categorised as a ‘Least Developed Country’. By improving access to local reliable and affordable clean energy this project will promote socio-economic development by enhancing business performance and stimulating growth; and reduce poverty and inequality of farming communities (particularly for women), increasing income and employment opportunities and building capacity and capability.
Effectiveness and safety of calcium channel blockade for organophosphorus and carbamate anticholinesterase insecticide poisoning (CCBOC study)
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
MRC/JGHT 8 award to set up a big study (or randomised controlled trial, RCT) of patients with OP or carbamate poisoning admitted to 4 large Bangladeshi hospitals where this poisoning is a major problem, killing thousands of people each year.
Technical and Societal Innovation for Delivering Access to Community Wide Affordable Cylindered CBG for Cooking and Sustainable Fertiliser
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Natural Synergies Ltd (NS) Industrial Research project "Technical/Societal Innovation for Delivering Community Wide Affordable Cylindered CBG for Cooking and Sustainable Fertiliser" is to establish new data and knowledge, which would eventually lead to establishing an demonstration waste to energy process based around an advanced anaerobic digestion treatment process that has been developed by NS. This seminal development work will utilise a sectoral system of innovation which will eventually lead to nationwide joint partnerships, between NS the (technology provider) and poorer sectors of the local community. NS together with project partners, are involved in a project that concerns advanced pre-treatment and processing of faecal sludge and organic waste, providing enhanced, efficient energy security/generation, utilising locally available resource and GHG emission savings. NS aims in this Industrial Research project, to develop a stand-alone enhanced energy pre-processing technology, for rural and peri-urban locations in developing countries, increasing the efficiency of energy generation for the supply of affordable clean energy, for cooking and transport to the poor and marginalised local community and also with the production and supply of a sustainable source of fertiliser to local farmers. The decentralised and localised waste to energy plant, will also serve as a low cost faecal sludge management system and organic waste treatment facility, preventing the dumping of waste into waterways and land, providing benefits to both the environment and health to the local community. During the course of the project, the team will work in close co-operation with existing co-operatives and where necessary, expand and create further entrepreneurial partnerships, encouraging women's empowerment, social inclusion and security in the overall waste supply chain and product sales and marketing. This will lead to establishing a circular economy for waste treatment with close co-operation between the energy plant operator and the local community. Although specialised components will be sourced in the UK, NS will establish non-specialised component manufacture/build using local industries leading to job creation in DC, economies in plant build, short inbound/outbound feedstock and product supply logistics, marketing, sales and service supply chain.
Frontier PE (Cayman) L.P.
British International Investment plc
This is a small-cap fund investing in Bangladesh.
Frontier Bangladesh II LP
British International Investment plc
Frontier Bangladesh fund I, raised in 2009, was the first Bangladesh focused private equity fund raised in the market. The Frontier Bangladesh II LP fund, the successor to Frontier Bangladesh I, invests in mid-sized companies in Bangladesh to support the country's nascent private equity market. It focuses on the healthcare, agriculture, energy, solar power, food and beverage, consumer electronics and consumer finance sectors.
Summit Meghnaghat
British International Investment plc
Singapore-based Summit Power International (SPI) is a leading infrastructure developer and operator in South Asia. SPI comprises a group of businesses which focus on developing, owning and operating power generating assets. Having established Bangladesh’s first independent power plant in 1997, SPI is the country's largest independent power producer, with 15 power plants and total generating capacity exceeding 1,201 megawatts (MW).
Sembcorp North-West Power Company Ltd
British International Investment plc
The Sirajganj 4 Power Project is a greenfield dual-fuel combined-cycle power plant in the Sirajganj district of Bangladesh. The power plant will be developed by Sembcorp North-West Power Company, a joint venture between Singapore-based Sembcorp Utilities and Bangladesh’s state-owned North-West Power Generation Company.
Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited
British International Investment plc
The IFC and Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited (Excelerate) are co-developing the Moheshkhali Floating LNG project – Bangladesh’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal. The project will be located offshore Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to cost $179.5 million.
Bangladesh Managed Account C.V.
British International Investment plc
Single asset Managed Account which invested into ACI Motors in Bangladesh
Prime Bank PLC
British International Investment plc
Prime Bank Limited is a private commercial bank in Bangladesh with its headquarters in Dhaka.
City Bank Ltd.
British International Investment plc
City Bank is one of Bangladesh’s top performing private banks.
RFL Electronics Limited
British International Investment plc
RFL Electronics Ltd (REL) is a consumer electronics manufacturer based in Bangladesh, which manufactures and assembles wide range of electronic home appliances including TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and small home appliances. REL was established in 2015 and is part of the PRAN-RFL group.
Pubali Bank Ltd.
British International Investment plc
Pubali Bank is one of the largest private commercial banks in Bangladesh. It was established in 1959.
Jinnat Textile Mills Limited
British International Investment plc
Jinnat Textile Mills Limited is a greenfield, cotton yarn spinning mill and is part of the DBL Group, a textiles group in Bangladesh.