Rural communities face complex challenges — poverty, inequality, climate risks, limited opportunities, lack of access to services like healthcare and education, poor infrastructure (especially digital connectivity), limited job opportunities leading to youth emigration, and difficulties in agricultural productivity and market access.

CIRDAP announces Rural Development Innovation Challenge to identify, support, and promote groundbreaking ideas and practical solutions that can make a substantial impact on addressing complex challenges in rural development. This Innovation Challenge seeks groundbreaking ideas and solutions that can transform rural lives across its 15 member countries. We aim to recognize, reward, and promote innovations that bring sustainable, inclusive, and cost-effective changes from grassroots models to scalable technologies.

This initiative seeks to foster creativity and innovation by encouraging participants to tackle pressing rural issues and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Through appropriate recognition and rewards, this challenge highlights the most outstanding innovations originating from the CIRDAP member countries (CMCs), ultimately contributing to sustainable and inclusive rural progress across the region.