Digital Tools Reach 32,000 Rural Households as Innovatech Expands in Six Countries

More than 32,000 rural households in Bangladesh, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru are now using digital solutions developed by 15 tech startups through Innovatech 2.0.

For a rural savings and credit association in Honduras, digital technology has brought a practical change: members can receive an account statement as soon as a transaction is processed. For small-scale producers across six countries, similar tools are opening access to buyers, helping manage crops and making financial services easier to use.

More than 32,000 rural households in Bangladesh, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru are now using digital solutions developed by 15 tech startups through Innovatech 2.0. Their uses range from tracing agricultural products and managing farm records to accessing savings services and adopting more sustainable farming practices.

Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union, and implemented by the German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (DSIK), the programme connected technology companies with 811 rural organizations between 2024 and 2026. Nearly 17,000 women, more than 11,300 young people and 8,300 Indigenous Peoples participated.

Technology built around everyday farming needs

Innovatech 2.0 began by identifying what producer organizations needed, giving startups a clearer understanding of the problems their tools had to solve and the conditions in which people would use them.

That work produced platforms connecting farmers with buyers, tools for crop management and product traceability, savings and financing services designed for small-scale producers, digital training platforms and other technologies for agrifood value chains. The programme supported companies in adapting these solutions to producers' circumstances, with the broader purpose of strengthening rural businesses, food security and their ability to respond to climate change.

Rocío Medina Bolívar, IFAD Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, described cooperation between technology companies, producer organizations and development institutions as central to transforming rural economies.

"When innovation and investment reach the first mile of food systems, small-scale producers can create new opportunities, access markets and participate on better terms in an increasingly connected economy," she said.

A savings association sees the difference

In Honduras, Terra Kaape Digital helped the Amigos Unidos San Isidro Rural Savings and Credit Association, known as CRACAUSI, digitalize its accounting, administration and financial management.

The tool makes it easier to record savings, contributions and loans, giving the association a more straightforward way to manage transactions and provide members with information about their money.

"Thanks to Innovatech, we now have a system that has allowed us to digitalize transactions and makes our work easier. We can now process a transaction and immediately provide account statements, which builds greater trust among our members," explained Reyna Medina, President of CRACAUSI.

Her experience shows how a change in routine administration can matter to an organization whose relationship with its members depends on clear, reliable financial records.

Practical solutions for more resilient farms

Sustainability and resilience were priorities throughout the programme. Two out of every three participating producer organizations implemented agroecological practices, including bio-inputs, sustainable soil management and efficient water use. The approach placed as much importance on whether a solution would remain useful as on what the technology could do.

"Rural areas do not need technology for technology's sake. They need solutions that address a specific problem, work under the real conditions faced by producers and remain relevant after the project ends," said Christina Olsen, Director of Innovatech. She explained that the programme starts with demand, bringing startups and producers together to adapt solutions for the people who will actually use them.

From Latin America to Bangladesh

Innovatech's first edition ran in Latin America and the Caribbean from 2021 to 2023. Its second edition brought the programme to Bangladesh for the first time, extending an approach built around cooperation between rural communities and emerging technology companies.

Enrique Hennings, IFAD Lead Global Technical Specialist for ICT for Development, said the results demonstrated that the model could work across different production and technological settings in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. He identified expansion and the possibility of a long-term financing mechanism as the next steps to explore.

Across both editions, around 30 emerging technology companies adapted their solutions for rural communities. More than 1,000 producer organizations have used those tools, with a reported positive impact on over 50,000 rural households through better connections to markets and financial services and support for sustainable agriculture.