A team of students from Gazipur Agricultural University (GAU) has won international recognition for their community-based digital carbon finance model at the CIRDAP-REEDS International Rural Development Innovation Challenge 2025, and has been invited to present their innovation at an Asia-Pacific conference.
The team, named CARBODIT, was selected among top innovations from 187 proposals submitted across 13 countries, said a press release on Sunday.
The award was presented on 6 July at the 47th foundation anniversary of CIRDAP by the then Local Government Minister and the current President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
The team was led by Helen Saifullah Manwar, who also serves as chief executive officer and co-founder of CARBODIT. Faiyan Taskin is chief operating officer and co-founder, Aditi Mohammad Helen is chief financial officer, and Arfa Saiyara Riza is developer.
The team has been formally invited to present their innovation at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Innovation in Rural Development, scheduled for 6 to 10 October in Colombo.
The innovation, titled “CARBODIT: A Community-Based Digital Carbon Finance Model for Rural Empowerment,” aims to convert household trees into measurable carbon assets, connecting rural communities to international carbon markets and climate finance.
Tree owners will receive financial value for their environmental contributions, while a community-based framework will be developed for data collection, digital management and carbon asset creation.
GAU Vice-Chancellor GKM Mustafizur Rahman congratulated the students and said the achievement reflects the university’s commitment to fostering quality education and innovation.
