Technology
Pakistani online grocery startup MandiExpress is investing $725k
Pakistan 's online fresh produce and grocery delivery startup has raised US$ 725,000 in pre-series A funding round led by the Lakson Investments Venture Capital Institutional VC Fund. Private investor Disrupt, which has been sponsoring the company since the seed stage, has provided follow-up funding.
MandiExpress takes a data-driven approach to the fulfillment of B2B and B2C fresh production orders. Its technology platform independently collects price data for its buyers located at daily auctions, locally known as sabzi mandis. This enables the company to purchase high-grade goods at reduced costs and to pass savings on to its customers.
It has storehouses at sabzi mandis, where it buys, kinds, types, and custom packages of vegetables , fruit, meat , seafood, organic and gourmet food. These items are then distributed to the online customers of the startup.
Five years ago, I began this venture to set up a forum with a goal to enable local farmers to learn about the problems they faced. The mission seemed almost impossible at the time, but today we are deeply integrated into the supply chain of multiple wholesale markets across Pakistan, steadily digitizing the entire value chain, said founder and CEO Jehanzeb Chaudhri.
With the new funds, MandiExpress aims to scale up its popular model with sabzi mandis across the country and meet the growing demand of its partnerships with various e-commerce firms, Chief Exec said.
According to the statement, Pakistan's fresh produce market currently stands at more than US$ 50 billion, accounting for 20% of the country's GDP. Local farmers are not taking advantage of this opportunity, as the country has some of the lowest yields per acre globally and as a result of the extraction of value by multiple players in the value chain.
MandiExpress claimed that it placed its platform as a means of helping farmers find fairer markets, providing them with direct market access and promoting their financial participation in the supply chain of fresh produce.
Photo credit: MandiExpress
