Agruppa
Organization Details
Agruppa optimizes the current fruit and vegetable supply chain between the farm and the small mom-and-pop shops (M&Ps) in the city, leveraging mobile technology and economies of scale. It aims to become the Amazon Fresh for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) and has already proven this vision at a small-scale in Bogotá, Colombia.
Support Needs
We’re looking for:
InnovationITMarketingSalesStrategic Marketing
Impact Story
There are 5 million M&Ps in Latin America, setting final prices for 70% of fruits and vegetables in the city. Yet, lacking sufficient capital to buy in bulk, they not only stock up daily at the central market (spending 15 hours per week and 20% of their income on transportation), but also face the 45% markup that exists between the farm and the central markets. This chain is highly inefficient for M&Ps, farmers, and end-consumers.
Such is the case of Marlen. She lives in Bogota and has owned this mom-and-pop shop for the past 10 years. Marlen doesn't have the money to buy large quantities of stock for her shop. So she gets up at 3 AM everyday, in a dark and unsafe neighborhood of Bogota. She takes public transportation to go to the central market. There, she walks long hours, carries heavy loads, stocks at high retail prices, and spends 20% of her income on transportation alone. At the market, she buys what she will sell that day. And tomorrow, she'll do it again.
We believe that by solving Marlen’s challenges as a microentrepreneur we make sure that millions of families in the BoP have access to affordable fruits and vegetables. Aguppa compiles demand for mom-and-pop shops in low-income neighborhoods like Marlen's to give them access to wholesale prices on fruits and vegetables. We create a virtual buying group for mom-and-pop shops to buy in bulk at the farm, bring to the city, and deliver to their shops at wholesale prices, generating savings equivalent to 6 minimum wages per year per shop.
Watch our 3m impact story here
