“All ministries concerned and stakeholders are working together to this end,” he said while addressing the Grand Finale of Bangladesh NutriStar: Nutrition Innovation Challenge at a city hotel.

Bangladesh NutriStar, part of the SUN Pitch Competition 2019-20, was organised by the SUN Business Network Bangladesh, which is co-convened by The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), World Food Programme (WFP) and hosted by the Ministry of Industries, and Light Castle Partners.

Habibur Rahman said Bangladesh is flourishing in all fields and so safe and nutritious food is very significant now.

As the chair of the programme, Additional Industries Secretary Lutfun Nahar Begum said the food system plays a key role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“So, our different institutions, including the BSTI, have been working to ensure safe food for the people,” she added.

Lutfun underscored the need for supporting innovative Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh to bring solutions to address key challenges in the food system, such as food safety, food design, post-harvest losses and market connectivity, all of which limit the food system’s ability to deliver affordable, safe and nutritious food for all.

‘FEED ME won the top prize while ‘Khamar-e’ became the first runner-up and ‘SACO Enterprise’ the second runner-up.

The top three winners are awarded with Tk 250,000, Tk 200,000 and Tk 150,000 respectively as seed fund.

A total of 140 applications were received when the call for submissions was released late last year. Of them, 10 proposals were shortlisted for the grand finale.

They include Khaas Food, Shashyaprabartana Ltd, Khamar-e, Parmeeda Enterprise, SACO Enterprise, Unique Agro Services, FEED ME, Prakriti Farming, Prantojon Agro Enterprise and e-Medi.

An investor night was held on March 4 to provide finalists a chance to meet commercial investors who helped them modify their business pitch to make it more commercially attractive with nutritional impact.