In the intricate and fragmented agrifood supply chain of Bangladesh, intermediaries wield significant power, often to the detriment of farmers and retailers. This complex system results in farmers selling their products at a loss, a situation that Sakib Hossain, CEO of the agribusiness marketplace Fashol, is determined to change. “If I really want to help farmers, I need to buy their products at a very good price,” Hossain tells AgFunderNews. Retailers, too, face a labyrinthine buying process fraught with uncertainties and sleepless nights.
Fashol, a Dhaka-based startup founded in 2020, aims to alleviate these constraints by directly connecting farmers to retailers, customers, and capital through its platform. The company’s mission is to stabilize food prices and reduce food waste, a critical endeavor in a country where nearly half the population is employed in agriculture. This initiative has garnered attention, leading Fashol to join the AgFunder GROW Impact Accelerator’s fifth cohort, taking place in Singapore and remotely. The startup raised $1 million last year from investors including Orbit Startups and South Asia Tech Partners.
Reflecting on the company’s origins, Hossain recalls how the COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst. “During Covid everything was shut off; only food services were permitted to go around the country,” he says. Hossain bought live chickens from his hometown and sold them in Dhaka, realizing substantial profits. This experience prompted him to delve deeper into the supply chain, where he discovered that farmers were consistently selling their products at a loss. “I talked to farmers and realized that their immediate problem was not IoT devices or other tech. When the farmer is selling his product, he’s doing it at a loss,” he explains.
Co-founder Numair Hussain adds a social dimension to their mission. “In Bangladesh, more than 40% of our workforce is employed in the agricultural sector. When we started getting into the business, we saw the injustice in that the prices farmers eventually get were not fair,” he says. This realization fueled their commitment to creating a fairer marketplace.
Fashol’s approach is multifaceted, addressing both farmer and retailer challenges. “We started with the question, Who are the stakeholders who are buying bulk every single day? They are these mom and pop shops, wholesalers, and restaurants,” Hossain says. The team discovered that retailers had been navigating a convoluted buying process for decades. Retailers typically go to wholesale markets at 1am, spend hours purchasing produce, and then face logistical challenges in transporting it to their shops. Fashol’s solution is to deliver produce directly to retailers’ shops by 6am, allowing them to place orders late at night. This service not only simplifies the process but also reduces food waste and stabilizes prices.
Initial resistance was inevitable, but Fashol quickly proved its value. Hossain recounts an instance where only one shop in a market of 20 started using Fashol. When heavy rains disrupted the wholesale market, that shop was the only one to receive its produce, convincing others of Fashol’s importance.
Fashol’s participation in the GROW accelerator came about serendipitously. Hossain and Ashraful Rokon, senior executive: impact and partnership at Fashol, were separately in talks with the AgFunder team, unaware of each other’s efforts. The company has raised around $2.1 million to date and is currently in the process of raising an additional $3 million, with $1.2 million already secured.
Looking ahead, Fashol has ambitions beyond Bangladesh. “There’s no point to just being in Bangladesh. This particular type of business can be applied to any other country,” Hossain asserts. The company is already exporting to Dubai and envisions a global marketplace where orders can flow seamlessly between countries. “We want to help the country in this process. We are already exporting to Dubai. This is one thing we’ll be focused on for the next 1.5 to 2 years,” he says, emphasizing a step-by-step approach to global expansion.
Fashol’s innovative model not only promises to transform the agrifood supply chain in Bangladesh but also holds potential for broader international impact, creating a fairer, more efficient marketplace for farmers and retailers alike.