From left: Wegro co-founder Alvi Rahman, founder and CEO Mahmudur Rahman, and co-founder John Buckley. Photo: Collected
* 'Wegro', an agriculture-based startup company, started its journey in 2021.
* Currently, the total number of farmers registered with Wegro is about 20,000.
* Seven banks and microfinance institutions provide loans to farmers at 4-13 percent interest.
* Farmers can take loans within 48 hours through Wegro.
* In addition to agricultural loans, Wegro also sells farmers' products.
* Wegro collects paddy, corn, potatoes, and jute from 19 districts and supplies it to corporates.
When he was in eighth grade, Mahmudur Rahman, the co-founder and CEO of Wegro, visited his grandparents in Feni. As a child, he saw how his maternal grandfather's family cultivated barga on their land. Since then, Mahmudur Rahman has been ingrained with this method of farming. Later, after graduating from East West University in Dhaka, he worked in various domestic and foreign organizations. Since then, he has had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Mahmudur Rahman was the son of a middle-class family. It was difficult for him to dream of becoming an entrepreneur directly from such a family. So, after graduating in 2015, he chose a job. He worked in various domestic and foreign organizations for six consecutive years. Even while working, he had a dream of becoming an agricultural entrepreneur. From that dream, he once invested in a friend's cattle farm in Chuadanga. From there, he learned how to be an entrepreneur firsthand. Using that experience, he founded a startup company called 'Goshat' in 2019. Corona started after the formation of this new company. At that time, even after receiving good purchase orders online, he faced various obstacles in delivering the products. Therefore, it was not possible to continue the business for much longer.
Before forming the new company, Mahmudur worked at the online domestic product seller 'Khasfood'. That's when he met Alvi Rahman. Later, with Alvi Rahman, he launched the agriculture sector-based startup company 'Ugro' in 2021. Recently, Mahmudur Rahman was interviewed about Wegro at the company's office in Niketan in the capital. He said that initially they had a 200 square foot office. Now that area has increased to 5,000 square feet. Initially, the investment amount in Wegro was 1 million taka. Later, money was collected through crowdfunding. In the first month, the company received an investment of 20 million taka from acquaintances and relatives. Currently, the company has financed 8,000 farmers in more than 40 upazilas with 80 crore taka. Currently, 110 officials are working in Wegro.
During the conversation, Mahmudur Rahman said, "Every year, Bangladesh Bank sets a limit on agricultural loans. However, most banks distribute agricultural loans through various microfinance institutions. Because 90 percent of the country's farmers do not have a bank account. Again, loans through microfinance institutions have to be paid at high interest rates. The process of taking a loan directly from a bank is not easy for farmers. Therefore, we established Wegro with the urge to easily reach the farmers. Currently, the number of farmers registered with Ugro is about 20,000. The organization has 50 types of information about each of them. Using that information, a total of seven banks and microfinance institutions, including UCB and BRAC Bank, provide loans at an interest rate of 4 to 13 percent. If farmers want, they can take a loan through Wegro within 48 hours."
Along with agricultural loans, Wegro also sells the products produced by farmers. Currently, it collects paddy, maize, potatoes, and jute from 40 locations in 19 districts and supplies them to various corporate institutions. As a result, farmers get additional prices along with the security of selling their products. In addition, anyone can invest in agriculture through the Wegro app. Investors will receive a maximum of 25 percent of the annual profit.
Wegro does not give all the money it gives to farmers in cash. Depending on the type of agriculture, some part is given in cash, and the rest in the form of agricultural seeds, fertilizers, and other expenses. To reduce the risk of disasters, Wegro also provides three types of insurance benefits to farmers in collaboration with local insurance companies. Life insurance for animals, weather insurance to protect crops from damage due to bad weather, and yield insurance in case of reduced yields due to pests and diseases.
Mahmudur Rahman said that in 2023, Wigro participated in the Singapore-based accelerator ‘Accelerating Asia’. There, the company was introduced to a foreign investor, John Buckley. In 2024, he also joined Wegro through an investment. John Buckley told Prothom Alo, ‘After retirement, I wanted to stand by young entrepreneurs. Now, I am helping them set strategies to manage, expand, and sustain their businesses. Our effort is to make agriculture easier. Our goal is not only to reduce poverty but also to ensure food security.’
Alvi Rahman, another co-founder of Wegro, said, ‘We always saw thousands of farmers in villages burdened with debt. In addition, most farmers are struggling with market uncertainty. We thought of establishing Wegro to save farmers from the burden of debt and market worries. In the beginning, there were a handful of farmers and a small team. Gradually, we have been able to create easy financing, quality inputs, and market connectivity for farmers using technology. Today, we are with thousands of farmers.’
For young entrepreneurs, Mahmudur Rahman, co-founder of Wegro, advises that you should love the problem you are solving. Then, it is very important to work deeply on that problem, experiment, and build confidence in yourself. You also have to be patient while doing this work. Because solving a problem can take seven days, or it can take seven years.
Source: Online/GFMM
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