The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $42.2 million small expenditure financing facility (SEFF) to develop the bamboo industry in India’s northeastern states, boosting agricultural productivity, strengthening rural livelihoods, and reducing dependence on imports.

The facility will support community-based projects that enhance the growth, usage, and management of bamboo resources across Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura through multiple subloans financing a range of activities, including those ensuring the participation and employment of women across the value chain. It will also establish at least one women-led manufacturing facility in each state.

“By harnessing the country’s abundant bamboo resources and building private sector-led industrial value chains, ADB’s financing will stimulate trade, investment, and infrastructure,” said ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka. “It will diversify income sources for rural households, reducing their dependence on natural hazard-sensitive crops and strengthening economic resilience.”

Despite holding 39 per cent of the world’s forest bamboo, India’s bamboo value chain remains underdeveloped and reliant on imports. Aligned with the National Bamboo Mission, the SEFF will strengthen bamboo cultivation, production, and marketing to increase incomes of producers and expand access to finance for private investors and entrepreneurs. It will support capacity building for the National and State Bamboo Missions and technical institutions, bamboo resource management and mapping, research and training, project design and procurement, and digital value chain solutions.

ADB is a leading multilateral development bank supporting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific. Working with its members and partners to solve complex challenges together, ADB harnesses innovative financial tools and strategic partnerships to transform lives, build quality infrastructure, and safeguard our planet. Founded in 1966, ADB is owned by 69 members—50 from the region.