The readymade garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh has soared to remarkable heights, now standing as the world’s second-largest garment exporter with aspirations to reach the $100 billion export mark by 2023. This sector is the lifeblood of Bangladesh’s economy, contributing to 83 per cent of the national export and providing employment to 4.2 million people, 60 per cent of whom are women. The sector boasts 200 LEED-certified green garment factories, the highest number worldwide.

Over the years, the RMG industry has faced and overcome numerous challenges. Despite its success, the industry now stands at a critical juncture, ready to embrace innovation for its next growth phase.

Introducing the Needle Innovation Challenge

Needle Innovation Challenge (NIC) is a multi-year startup development programme specifically tailored for the RMG industry of Bangladesh. This programme is facilitated by Build Bangladesh and supported by the H&M Foundation and The Asia Foundation under Oporajita Initiative. Keeping the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) and the 60 per cent expected job loss by 2030 in mind, NIC aims to introduce human-centred innovations and socially beneficial circular models to enhance the competitiveness of the RMG industry and create future employment opportunities for women.

Highlights of the Programme

The multi-year NIC has two phases. The first phase consists of idea-stage innovations, and the second stage consists of existing revenue-generating startups with focus on the RMG sector. The selected innovators gain access to attend residential bootcamps, customised curricula, expert insights and analysis, mentoring and coaching, and pollination grants to establish their businesses.

Phase 1: Idea Stage Innovations

To attract idea-stage innovators, NIC’s extensive nationwide network of university clubs, which they have diligently built, has played a pivotal role in launching university-based campaigns to identify a vast pool of innovators. This robust network facilitated 21 on-field sessions collaborating with 23 university clubs held at 7 divisions across the country, engaging with 1,500 STEM-focused innovators. These sessions resulted in 81 idea-stage applications with 54 submissions from male-led teams and 27 submissions from female-led teams.

These 81 promising teams of innovators went on to participate in the IDEATHON 2023, a series of four intensive day-long events meticulously designed to assess the innovation’s merit, scalability and feasibility, and relevance to the RMG industry. The jury board selected 27 teams from the initial round, followed by 15 teams in the second round, ultimately culminating in the selection of the top 11 teams.

What are the Innovations?

The Needle Innovation Challenge envisions a more sustainable, inclusive, and technologically advanced future. Through its six solution areas, NIC aims to guide the industry towards a brighter, more innovative future.

Material Innovation

1. Plastile

Plastile’s vision is to transform plastic waste, an omnipresent environmental challenge, into valuable RMG accessories such as hangers and buttons, utilising state-of-the-art injection moulding technology. Its objective is to reduce plastic waste, and promote upcycled sustainable RMG materials.

2. foamTEX

foamTEX is developing a patent-worthy formula to produce self-healing biodegradable packaging materials from RMG cotton waste targeting to reduce RMG waste and carbon footprint, and enhance the packaging industry worldwide.

3. Pina-TEX Wear

They are currently developing the most cost-effective process of extracting fibre from pineapple leaves and producing yarn from it to reduce agro-waste and over-reliance on cotton.

Dyeing and Finishing

4. Green Dye

Green Dye is set to create an organic dye/fabric colour from microorganisms, and in the process, replace synthetic and chemical-based dyes to promote organic dyeing instead of chemical-based dye.

Environment and Circular Solution

5. DenimRevive

DenimRevive aims to cater to the fashion industry’s approach to post-consumer textile waste reduction and sustainability through upcycling textile waste, and promote upcycled clothing items.

6. Ackermans

Ackermans plans to utilise sugarcane bagasse to create biodegradable buttons and tags for the RMG sector to reduce carbon footprint and plastic usage in the RMG industry.

Better Process and Assistive Technologies

7. ThreadBridge

ThreadBridge is working to transform the RMG sector with its low-cost locally-made automated cutting machine with a potential market of local MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operation) products.

Consumer and Retail Business Models

8. Thrifto Store

Thrifto Store’s innovative approach involves collecting thrifted clothing items and creatively redesigning them by women RMG workers. They aim to reduce post-consumer textile waste and re-use pre-loved clothing items.

9. Rentify

Rentify’s unique business model revolves around a clothing rental platform, allowing people to monetise their wardrobes while providing customers with a vast and diverse collection of clothing options to promote sustainable fashion and extend life cycles of clothes.

10. Sui-Chokri

Sui-Chokri plans to establish a one-stop solution for tailoring, adhering to international quality benchmarks and providing unparalleled service from picking the materials to design consultancy, leading towards a branded tailor shop chain.

Cross-sector and/or CFC-based Business Model

11. FemmeStitch

FemmeStitch envisions establishing a Common Facility Centre for women in rural and suburban areas, equipped with machineries ranging from cutting and stitching to embroidery.

Residential Bootcamp and Prototyping Phase

Following the IDEATHON, from September 21st to 26th of 2023, the Build Bangladesh team successfully organised the 1st Residential Bootcamp. During this intensive 5-day training, the innovators had the invaluable opportunity to validate their ideas. As the next phase of their journey, the innovators dedicated the next 2.5 months to develop their Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) in the prototyping stage. At the end of this stage, 5 innovations were picked based on their success of building the prototypes.

Phase 2: Existing Startups

Aligning with the prototyping segment of idea-stage solutions, a Call For Application was launched to find existing startups working in the RMG sector of Bangladesh. 31 applications were received from diverse fields of innovations, and 4 startups were picked based on their track record, potential for scaling up, and opportunities to create employment for women.

These 4 startups include unique and effective RMG-focused businesses like recycling and upcycling RMG waste, financial literacy of women RMG workers, microfinancing cotton farmers, and creating a bridge between the farmers and RMG industries. The 4 existing startups and 5 idea-stage teams of innovators will join the technical bootcamp in December 2023 to prepare for the piloting phase. In this phase, they will receive rigorous mentorship to take their businesses one step ahead for piloting, aiming to present their startups to a vast group of investors.

The participants of the NIC are not just innovators and entrepreneurs; they are change-makers ready to make significant impacts on the RMG sector of Bangladesh. Their businesses can reduce pressure on imports and rely more on local solutions, and create women employment opportunities while ensuring circular practices throughout the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

Keep an eye on Needle Innovation Challenge’s website and social media platforms to stay updated about the innovators and further steps of the programme.