Farmerly is the country’s first agriculture-based multivendor marketplace for educated young people. Here, ready-to-cook items such as fish, meat, indoor plants, and various agricultural products can be bought and sold free of charge from any part of the country in 18 categories on the agriculture-based multivendor online marketplace. In addition, sellers can invest in this platform based on their sales invoices. The established vendors are also supported by investment without any kind of guarantee.
Before entering the market, Farmerly conducted a pilot project with teachers and students of Rajshahi University in September. To know the beginning of Farmerly, the founder and CEO Nazmul Haque Nion said, that during his study in Malaysia, the idea came to him while having a conversation with international students in front of the hostel one afternoon. Students from various countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Libya, Nigeria, and Ghana were present there, and we all were eating Thai mangoes. When they heard about our mangoes, they searched for Bangladeshi mangoes on Google and found them. A Ghanaian student said, ‘Your mangoes have an aroma, our mangoes don’t even have an aroma.’ That day I jokingly said, ‘Let’s plant our mangoes in your country.’ Then the proposal came up to plant gardens where the fruit grows well. When all the courses were completed, everyone got busy with their respective lives. I started brainstorming with the current team of Farmerly about making the idea a reality. However, due to the high cost of growing fruits, I reconsidered the plan and started thinking about vegetable production and the marketplace.
In August 2021, we started our first project with cauliflower called the ‘Fulkopi Project.’ Farmerly brings sellers and buyers of agricultural products onto a common platform. Buyers and sellers do not need to sign up on many websites or join many Facebook pages or groups. Once they enter here, they can easily buy and sell agricultural products in the marketplace in 18 categories. Farmerly is an excellent platform for home gardeners or rooftop gardeners. Typically, women who are involved in home gardening or rooftop gardening can easily purchase gardening tools, seeds, compost, and other gardening essentials while sitting at home. In addition, after meeting the family’s needs, they can sell the products produced in their gardens to neighboring residents. Especially, empowered women can easily buy pesticide-free vegetables for their households during pregnancy. Sellers and buyers can also apply for investment based on their sales data in the future, without any kind of guarantee.
To join Farmerly, young entrepreneurs can establish their businesses by adding value to agricultural products from their homes, hostels, or university areas. Particularly, educated women who, for various reasons, are not working office jobs can easily create home-based jobs through Farmerly.
Farmerly provides a special opportunity for those who have joined as sellers. Within this time, around 150 young people have joined Farmerly as sellers, and most of them are between the ages of 20 and 31. Apart from this, after the pilot project, about 400 buyers have registered, and they have purchased products from the sellers through Farmerly. This number is increasing regularly. In addition, many young affiliates are earning income by doing affiliate marketing through Farmerly. If any young person thinks they do not have the capital or resources to sell products, they can create an affiliate account, share it among acquaintances, and earn a good monthly income.
The founder of the company, Nazmul Haque Nion, was born in Kurigram but grew up in Sarishabari, Jamalpur. He completed his business degree from UCSI University in Malaysia. However, the other three team members were born in Kushtia, Jhalokathi, and Dhaka. One of them, Tanvir Ahmed Siddique, is a co-founder and CEO of the company. He is from Jhalokathi. He completed his bachelor’s degree from Jahangirnagar University and his MBA from Dhaka University. The other co-founder, Sanjay Kumar Pal, is from Kushtia. He studied in West Bengal. The fourth member of the team is Tanveer Ahmed Siddique. He completed his graduation from the University of New Brunswick in Canada. He completed his postgraduate studies at a university in Japan and later joined Farmerly.
To know about the future dreams, Nazmul Haque Nion, the main person of the company, says, “We dream of becoming the world’s largest agro-ecosystem, where people can buy and sell all products with confidence. Besides, Farmerly is working on various projects, including farms, orchards, and other projects to increase the service area. In addition to serving individually in different countries, we are contributing to agriculture-based projects, including agricultural farms and orchards, by understanding the agricultural situation in different countries worldwide. One day, we will be able to realize the dream of taking young people of the country with us.”
