Start Fund Bangladesh (SFB) is a civil society managed rapid emergency response pooled funding mechanism that was created in 2017. Modelled on the Start Network’s successful Start Fund, which releases funding within 72 hours of a crisis alert, it fills a crucial gap in humanitarian funding. It is accessible to local, national, and international member non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Bangladesh to respond early to under the radar emergencies.
Since 2017, the fund has directly reached more than 913,137 people by quickly responding to small to medium-sized crises, allocating £8.86 million GBP to Start Fund Bangladesh member agencies.
In addition to responding to the country’s many underfunded small to medium-sized crises, it also focuses on enhancing coordination mechanisms; increasing representation of local and national agencies in decision-making fora; strengthening systems through which local and national agencies can access and manage funds; and improving accountability to affected populations.
SFB has demonstrated that onboarding of local organisations as members, and the direct flow of funds to them, resulted in an increase of localised and underreported emergencies being responded to, through a deeper understanding of community needs.
How it works
Start Fund Bangladesh provide rapid and anticipatory funding to humanitarian agencies through a national civil society owned mechanism that is:
- Open and inclusive
- Governed by transparent, neutral, collective decision making
- Responsive to humanitarian crisis
Know more about Start Fund alert cycle process in our Start Fund Handbook, available in English and Bangla.
Start Fund Bangladesh Membership and Governance
Since its inception, SFB has grown to 47 members of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), and local and national non-governmental organisations (L/NNGOs), following a comprehensive mapping and due diligence process. Our current membership consists of 21 INGO members and 26 national and local members.
Start Fund Bangladesh has its own governance mechanism that steers the decision-making of the Start Fund Bangladesh activities. Representatives from both INGO and local and national NGOs have equal participation in the governance committee.
