The Frugal Innovation Forum 2025 began Friday at BRAC’s Centre for Development Management (BCDM) in Savar, with a strong call for locally driven, affordable climate solutions to safeguard agriculture, food security, and livelihoods across the Global South.
The two-day forum, organised by BRAC, brought together over 200 national and international experts, researchers, entrepreneurs and development practitioners to share ideas and innovations on climate adaptation.
This year’s theme is “Climate Adaptation in Agriculture, Food Security, and Livelihoods,” with discussions grounded in practical, community-led experiences.
The event opened with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the recent Milestone School and College tragedy. BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh delivered the opening address, while Mohamed Nasheed, Secretary General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and former President of the Maldives, joined virtually as the keynote speaker.
In his speech, Nasheed criticised the current international financial system for excluding vulnerable countries from access to climate financing. “Developing countries are priced out of vital investments in clean energy and resilient infrastructure,” he said, stressing that affordable climate finance must be treated as a global emergency.
Asif Saleh said the world is already at a breaking point, with climate-related economic losses now amounting to $2.3 trillion annually. He warned that those losses are hitting the Global South hardest. “Nearly 700 million people still live on less than $2.15 a day. With projected global warming of 2.7°C, nearly 2 billion people—mostly in the Global South—will be exposed to deadly extreme heat,” he said.
The forum featured panel discussions, impact talks and exhibitions exploring innovative adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities.Sessions covered adaptive agriculture, regenerative farming, climate information services, and market access. Innovations from BRAC’s Frugal Innovation Fellows and organisations like SAJIDA Foundation, WeGro, World Vision, iFarmer, and Green Delta Insurance were highlighted.
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The closing session, scheduled for Saturday, will feature remarks from Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Environment Adviser to the Interim Government, and BRAC Chairperson Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman.
Since 2013, the Frugal Innovation Forum has served as a platform to promote inclusive, low-cost innovation for development. This year’s message is clear: building climate resilience must begin at the grassroots—with communities, not just for them.