iFarmer Empowers Bangladeshi Farmers with Financing, Data and Market Access

Hundreds of thousands of farmers in Bangladesh face the same obstacles year after year. They lack access to capital, use poor-quality inputs, struggle with low yields, and have little control over the prices they receive. iFarmer works to change that pattern. The company brings together financing, farm supplies, crop insurance, real-time data, and access to markets in one coordinated service designed to support smallholder farmers.

Co-founders Fahad Ifaz and Jamil Akbar launched iFarmer in 2018. What began as an urban farming pilot pivoted quickly to full-grown agriculture. Fahad saw that access to finance, quality inputs and transparent sales channels could spark meaningful change. His early work in development, including stints at the World Bank and care organizations, showed him the practical needs of rural communities.

Financing with Accountability

Most farmers in Bangladesh lack collateral or a formal credit history. iFarmer addresses this by offering collateral-free, low-cost financing for inputs and machinery. The ratcheting credit facility is informed by 40+ data points, from transaction history to land ownership, and verified by national ID.

Farmers see loan approval in under a month instead of weeks. They can then buy seeds, fertiliser or machinery through iFarmer partners. Financing is paired with mechanised equipment plans and expert advisory to ensure money is used effectively.

Inputs and Know-How at Their Doorstep

iFarmer ensures access to quality seeds, fertilisers and pest control from partnered retailers. A network of field facilitators delivers these inputs, often bundled with training and weather or crop advice via SMS.

Basic soil testing also falls within their scope. Farmers get quick, sensor-based assessments and tailored recommendations. This keeps their fields productive and sustainable.

Market Access and Fair Prices

Small producers often rely on middlemen, receiving only a fraction of market value. iFarmer bypasses this by collecting produce via local collection centres and mobile vans. Staff grade and sort supplies, then supply them directly to modern retailers, processors or exporters. Farmers are paid on the spot. This transparency has pushed incomes higher and secured more stable revenue.

Retail and Institutional Investors

iFarmer allows individuals to invest in a farm cycle, typically in amounts around US$1,000. At the end, they receive returns of about 27 percent, alongside the satisfaction of impact. It also works with banks and microfinance institutions, helping them lend effectively to agricultural SMEs by sharing data on risk and repayment history.

Supporting Women Farmers

Fahad points out that women face higher barriers. iFarmer uses mobile vans to reach female growers who cannot travel far. That approach has seen more women receive finance and sell their produce—an important step toward gender-inclusive farming.

Data as Foundation

Every step, from farmer registration to yield tracking and sales, is logged via the iFarmer app or by field staff. This gives the company a powerful dataset. Banks use it to assess credit, the team analyzes it for advisory content, and supply partners rely on it to plan logistics.

Impact Numbers That Matter

Since launching, iFarmer has registered over 113,000 farmers, nearly half of them women. It has facilitated US$2.45 billion in funding. Farmers have sold nearly 300,000 tons of produce through the platform. The platform operates across 19 districts, supports nearly 3,000 input stores, and moves thousands of tons of product a month.

Field stories underline the impact. A cattle farmer credits iFarmer with opening a new income stream. A potato grower values the SMS-based crop advice. Another user describes access to a power tiller as life-changing for her family's work.

Recognition and Growth    

iFarmer has earned awards and grants from agencies like UNCDF, ESCAP, Startup Bangladesh and IIX. In 2022 it raised US$2.1 million from investor syndicates including IDLC Venture Capital and Millville Opportunities. That helped it scale operations and pilot mechanised equipment loans, sensor-driven advisory and insurance.

Challenges Ahead

Execution in rural areas remains complex. Some investors worry about regulatory changes or unclear returns. A Bangladeshi Reddit user wrote cautioning about TIN certificates required for investment. Another praised returns but said investors should start small:

“They do look pretty legit.… Invest small at first.”

iFarmer addresses such concerns by adding layers of verification and transparency.

Trust Through Tech and Team

Fahad and Jamil built iFarmer on trust. They vet farmers personally, retain ID-linked records, and rigorously track data. The supply vans and advisors build ground-level credibility. That trust lowers risk for funders and keeps farmers engaged.

Balancing Reach and Depth

iFarmer is expanding, but Fahad says depth matters more than breadth. The team pilots new districts, crops or financial tools only after data backs the move. When COVID stalled outreach, they focused on farmer training and tech improvements rather than scaling.

A Practical Vision for Agriculture

iFarad sees smallholder agriculture as a livelihood that deserves respect. He rejects grand tech-for-tech’s-sake ideas. Instead he offers farm loans, expert guidance and open markets wrapped in tech. Roi is real. Impact is measurable. Farmer lives improve.

The Road Ahead

iFarmer’s next steps include crop-based finance, richer insurance products and expansion into Myanmar and Cambodia. Expansion of retail and institutional funding is underway.

It also plans to deepen advisory services with remote sensing and weather alerts. Those tools would support climate resilience and sustainable farming. The data already exists. The app is ready. The challenge is integrating it seamlessly.

iFarmer doesn’t sell dreams. It sells seeds, advice and trust. It pays farmers up front, delivers on time and logs every step. For a sector too often ignored, that is meaningful progress.

By standing with smallholders, bundling what they need and proving it works at scale, iFarmer is offering a model that could reshape agriculture, and rural finance, in Bangladesh and beyond.

Fahad Ifaz, Co-Founder & CEO, iFarmer

 We aim to increase farmers’ income and improve their livelihoods by bundling finance, quality inputs, agronomic advisory and market access.