Eco Sentinels founder Shuvo wins GSEA Bangladesh title

Md Rezwanul Islam Shuvo, founder of Eco Sentinels Bangladesh, has emerged as the national champion of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) Bangladesh 2025-26, organised by Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) Bangladesh in partnership with the ICT Division's iDEA project.

Shuvo was recognised for developing a climate-smart floating agriculture model aimed at tackling salinity intrusion and flood risks in Bangladesh's coastal regions. He was an Environmental Science student at Khulna University and was named national champion at the GSEA Bangladesh grand finale held on Saturday.

The event took place at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, bringing together business leaders, policymakers, investors and development partners.

The runner-up position went to Kazi Ahmmed Inkiyad, a BBA student at East Delta University, for his venture Polyjute Ltd, which produces biodegradable packaging materials from jute cellulose.

Climate innovation takes centre stage

Eco Sentinels' solution, branded Harvesting Resilience, enables crop cultivation in saline and waterlogged areas where conventional farming has become increasingly unsustainable. The nature-based floating system uses locally available, biodegradable materials to reduce soil salinity and improve crop yields, while also lowering methane emissions compared to traditional flooded agriculture.

Salinity intrusion currently affects more than 1.5 million hectares of farmland in Bangladesh, particularly across the southwest coastal belt, causing significant yield losses and threatening the livelihoods of millions of farmers.

According to data presented during the final evaluation, field trials conducted in Khulna and Satkhira districts between 2022 and 2025 recorded yield improvements exceeding initial targets.

Platform for student entrepreneurs

The event was inaugurated by Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, president of EO Bangladesh and managing director of Rangs Motors Ltd, alongside Mostafa Quamrus Sobhan, chair of GSEA EO Bangladesh and managing director of Dragon Group.

Shish Haider Chowdhury, secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division, attended as guest of honour, while Murtuza Zulkar Nain Noman, project director of the iDEA project, was present as a distinguished guest.

Judges evaluated finalists based on innovation, business viability, scalability and impact. EO Bangladesh announced a total prize pool of Tk10 lakh for this edition.

As national champion, Shuvo will represent Bangladesh at the Global GSEA Finals, where he will compete against student entrepreneurs from other countries for a global prize pool of USD 100,000.

The 2025-26 edition marks the 10th GSEA in Bangladesh and the 20th globally.