From Soil Data to Bankable Farms: My Aunkur Journey with Youth Co:Lab

By Mashrur H. Shurid, Founder, Aunkur AI (Bangladesh)

Small farmers are often excluded from finance for a simple reason. The system cannot “see” them. When a lender cannot verify soil health, input use, or production risk, it defaults to caution. I founded Aunkur to help change that by turning farm realities into evidence that farmers and institutions can act on.

I started Aunkur AI (formerly known as IPAGE) in 2018 with a clear mission. We help small farmers to grow more with less. My first model was to sell soil testing devices. It looked scalable on paper, but it was not realistic for many smallholders. A device that is expensive and used occasionally becomes a burden. We pivoted to a service model instead, working through local partners and farm cooperatives so farmers can access testing when they need it at an affordable price.

That same year, Youth Co:Lab changed our trajectory. Being a runner up gave Aunkur legitimacy in Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem. It put us on the map. Youth Co:Lab also opened a door to my first international exposure through a UNDP-led programme in Guangzhou. I still describe that experience as life changing because it raised my standards for how to present, connect, and build trust beyond my home market.

That credibility became a steppingstone. Each new partnership and recognition opened the door to the next. We joined accelerators and built partnerships and later connected with Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC)-led Impact Funding Initiative and Expo Live Program through Expo City Dubai, which helped us learn how to articulate our impact better and enter new markets. Today, Aunkur supports more than 35,000 farmers in Bangladesh and has started expanding in the MENA region. The shift I care about most is not only growth, but institutions behaving differently.  For farmers, we use AI and real-time soil and weather data to give practical guidance on how to grow more effectively. For banks and insurers, we provide farm-level analytics that reduce paperwork, assess credit risk, and verify insurance claims more reliably. In Bangladesh, five major banks now require Aunkur soil tests as a prerequisite for farm loans, replacing older paper-based assessments. When that happens, soil data stops being just advice for farmers. It becomes shared infrastructure for more inclusive agricultural finance.

Some results were unexpected. In 2024, we ran the Pure Soil (Khati Mati) campaign. Farmers used soil reports not only to improve practice, but also to negotiate lease prices with landlords. Soil intelligence instantly became leverage. It gave farmers a clearer, third-party basis to argue what land is worth and what it will cost to make it productive.

As Youth Co:Lab marks ten years, I see our journey as an example of a system shift driven from the ground up. The support has lasted beyond a programme moment, and that long arc matters when you are building something that relies on trust.

About the Author 

Mashrur H. Shurid is the founder of Aunkur (formerly iPage) and a UN Youth Land Ambassador in Bangladesh. His work uses soil and climate data to help small farmers access finance and grow more sustainably.