{
  "subTitle": "Apon Bazaar",
  "closeDate": "2026-05-19T12:00:00.000Z",
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  "soldShare": 6,
  "videoUrls": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJkeULReRVw",
  "totalShare": 120,
  "locationText": "House 8, Road 2/A, Block J, Baridhara, Dhaka-1229 https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?client=safari&ll=24.09789928875681%2C90.1918393810547&z=11&mid=1yA4PhM1e8vY0hG_Hy76HMZu5mbFyeVc",
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  "fundingTarget": 3000000,
  "remainingDays": 0,
  "disclaimerText": "This investment opportunity is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Your investment is secured only after we receive and verify your transfer confirmation. If the quota is fully subscribed, any transferred amount will be refunded in full without interest or deduction. Return of capital and agreed return are not guaranteed. All investments involve risk of loss. Participate only after assessing your own risk appetite. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Grofin acts solely as a consultant/facilitator and does not manage, hold, or control any funds. Funds are transferred directly to AponBazaar.co Grofin performs limited due diligence but makes no warranties on business performance. Grofin is not liable for any loss, shortfall, delay, or default arising from this investment. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and seek independent financial/legal advice. This is not a public solicitation. By investing, you acknowledge and accept this Disclaimer.",
  "durationMonths": 4,
  "investedAmount": 150000,
  "remainingShare": 114,
  "minimumInvestment": 25000,
  "ownersSummaryText": "Saif Rashid is the Founder and Managing Director of Apon Bazaar, an innovative, inclusive business platform dedicated to improving the well-being and financial security of Bangladesh’s industrial workers, especially those in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector. With more than two decades of experience in social entrepreneurship, last-mile distribution, and worker-centric solutions, Saif has consistently created scalable models that connect corporate supply chains with the everyday needs of frontline workers. Founded in 2017 (initially as Apon Wellbeing), Apon Bazaar operates in-factory and community stores that provide quality groceries and essential goods at 8-10% discounted prices. The platform reaches over 4.2 million RMG workers and offers additional benefits such as zero-cash health coverage, life insurance, and points-based savings mechanisms, helping reduce living costs while promoting financial inclusion and a better quality of life. Before launching Apon Bazaar, Saif served as CEO of JITA Bangladesh, a joint venture social business between CARE and Danone Communities. Under his leadership, the network of women sales representatives grew from 1,800 to 4,500, generating $13 million in annual sales and reaching 10 million consumers. His earlier roles at CARE Bangladesh focused on building private-sector partnerships, rural marketing programs, and market-based livelihood initiatives for marginalized communities. Saif is a globally recognized social entrepreneur. He is an Ashoka Fellow, was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 by the Schwab Foundation at the World Economic Forum, and has received numerous accolades, including the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge, Fabric of Change Fellowship, and Meaningful Business 100 recognition. His work has been featured in The Guardian, Forbes, and The Economist. He holds a Masters in Technology Innovation Management Carleton University, Canada and has completed executive education from prestigious institutions, including INSEAD (Impact Business Strategy), Harvard Kennedy School (System Change), and Santa Clara University’s GSBI Accelerator. Saif’s leadership is guided by clear principles: starting with frontline realities, pursuing bold measurable impact, centering human dignity, and upholding uncompromising integrity. Through Apon Bazaar, he continues to demonstrate how ethical, inclusive business models can deliver both strong commercial results and lasting social value, turning worker welfare into a competitive advantage for factories and brands while creating sustainable opportunities for low-income families across Bangladesh.",
  "businessSectorName": null,
  "detailPageVerified": true,
  "shariahSummaryText": null,
  "annualRoiMaxPercent": 18,
  "annualRoiMinPercent": 18,
  "businessSummaryText": "Apon Bazaar is a leading Bangladeshi Social Enterprise that operates a unique \"phygital\" (physical + digital) platform to ensure financial freedom for blue-collar industrial workers, primarily for women in the Ready-Made Garment sector, by creating access to essential products and services. By combining convenient factory-based shops with a user-friendly mobile app, Apon currently serves over 240,000 workers and has set an ambitious goal to reach 1 million by 2030. The platform provides access to over 2,200 SKUs of groceries and daily necessities at up to 10% below market prices, helping workers stretch their hard-earned income further. It offers interest-free grocery credit up to 30–40% of the monthly salary, with easy and automatic repayment through payroll deduction, removing the stress of cash shortages. Workers can also access short-term, purposeful loans for medical, education, or household needs at near-zero interest. Through its innovative loyalty program, every BDT 100 spent earns points that contribute toward free health insurance coverage of up to BDT 25,000, along with maternity benefits and life insurance. Apon further enables easy interest-free installment plans for household appliances via collaborations with trusted brands like Rangs, Singer and Samsung etc. This holistic model creates a genuine win-win ecosystem for all stakeholders. Workers benefit from annual savings of approximately BDT 4,589 on groceries and BDT 25,000 on healthcare expenses, while also saving 45–60 minutes of valuable shopping time every week. Factories experience meaningful improvements, including up to a 10% reduction in employee turnover, a 2–3% decrease in absenteeism, and a 5–7% boost in overall productivity. The platform additionally supports factories in meeting important global compliance standards such as SLCP and EU transparency requirements, which strengthens their ability to secure future international orders. Apon has earned widespread international recognition for its innovative approach to sustainable industrial development and worker empowerment. Notable accolades include recognition from Ashoka in 2017, the MetLife Foundation in 2018, the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge in 2019, Expo Dubai in 2020, Biniyog Briddhi by Roots of Impact, and support from the Swiss Development Agency.",
  "contractSummaryText": "Duration of Investment: Approximately 4 months from the date of fund disbursement. Fundraising Period: Funds will be raised within a 3-week campaign window for timely deployment into inventory and operations. Projected Return: Annualized return of 18% Example Calculation: (illustrative only) Investment Amount: BDT 10,00,000 Return Rate: 18 per annum Tenure: 4 months Return Amount: 18% = 60,000 (After Tenure) Total Payable After 4 months: BDT 10,60,000 (Principal + Return) Key Terms: Funds used solely to fuel AponBazaar's growth. Full repayment (principal + fixed return) at the end or in agreed installments. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Risks include market changes and operational factors.",
  "investmentPurposeText": "Apon requires a BDT 50 lakh short-term debt facility for a period of 6 months to support the working capital needs of the newly onboarded 5 shops. The fund will be utilized to: - Finance initial inventory build-up (fast-moving FMCG and essential SKUs) - Support the credit sales cycle offered to factory workers during the ramp-up phase - Ensure uninterrupted store operations until the shop reaches steady-state cash generation The new shops are currently in its early operational phase, where sales velocity is growing but cash conversion requires temporary working capital support. Based on Apon’s historical shop performance, the new outlets are expected to: - Achieve operational break-even within the debt tenure - Start generating positive operating cash flow sufficient to repay the facility from internal revenues",
  "projectDescriptionText": "Apon is a pioneering phygital (physical + digital) platform that is transforming financial access and affordability for industrial workers in Bangladesh. Founded with a clear mission to empower blue-collar workers, Apon directly tackles the widening gap between stagnant wages and escalating living costs—a reality that has left millions of workers facing severe financial strain and the constant threat of collapse. Apon delivers a powerful, integrated set of solutions tailored to the core challenges faced by Bangladesh’s blue-collar workforce: On-site convenience: Workers can shop directly at factory premises and conveniently pre-order essentials through a user-friendly mobile app. Meaningful savings: Everyday goods are offered at 8–10% below prevailing market retail prices, effectively boosting purchasing power and household budgets. Flexible financial support: Access to interest-free credit options for purchases, helping workers manage end-of-month cash-flow pressures without falling into high-cost debt cycles. Essential protection: Complimentary health insurance coverage, a benefit rarely available to this demographic, providing critical security for workers and their families. Apon places particular emphasis on serving women workers, who often face additional barriers in accessing retail and financial services due to cultural and societal norms. As of April 2025, 47.8% of Apon’s customers are women—a strikingly high proportion in a retail landscape traditionally dominated by male shoppers. By combining physical accessibility, digital ease, tangible cost savings, responsible credit, and protective insurance, Apon is building a more inclusive and sustainable model of economic empowerment for Bangladesh’s industrial workforce. The company operates at the intersection of retail and financial services through a unique three-pronged business model, driven by 3 revenue streams: 1) sales from it’s physical retail network 2) sales through its digital platform 3) financial services",
  "riskSecuritySummaryText": "Apon Bazaar integrates financial and operational security directly into its business model through strategic partnerships and automated systems, ensuring reliability for both workers and investors: Payroll Integration: Repayments for grocery credit and appliance installments are securely handled through automatic payroll deductions. This is facilitated via formal agreements with factory management, which significantly reduces default risk and ensures high recovery rates while providing hassle-free repayment for workers. Loyalty-Based Benefits: Worker security is further strengthened through an innovative point-based loyalty program. For every BDT 100 spent, workers earn points that contribute toward valuable benefits, including free health insurance coverage up to BDT 25,000, maternity support, and life insurance. This system not only improves financial resilience but also encourages responsible spending and long-term engagement. These built-in mechanisms create a low-risk, self-reinforcing ecosystem. Automated payroll deductions minimize collection challenges, while the loyalty program enhances worker loyalty and wellbeing. Together, they contribute to stable cash flows, high repayment discipline, and sustainable value creation for all stakeholders.",
  "investmentReturnPlanText": "We propose to repay the principal amount in full at the end of a 6-month maturity period, while the profit return, estimated at 1.3%–1.5% per month, will be paid on a monthly basis throughout the tenure. We remain flexible to incorporating alternative repayment or return structures, should you suggest any practices that are aligned with your internal policies and investment guidelines.",
  "riskAssessmentSummaryText": "Apon Bazaar (aponbazaar.co) is a Bangladeshi social enterprise incorporated and operating since 2017 as a pioneering \"phygital\" (physical + digital) platform that provides essential goods, financial inclusion, and well-being services to industrial workers, primarily women in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector. The company operates factory-based shops combined with a mobile app, offering discounted groceries, interest-free credit, short-term purposeful loans, savings products, health & life insurance, and appliance financing. It has built a strong reputation for creating measurable impact while delivering sustainable commercial returns. The business previously raised USD 1.5 million in a pre-seed round and has utilized funding to expand operations, strengthen supply chain partnerships, and scale its network of service points. Strengths include a growing base of loyal workers, high repayment rates on credit facilities (reported near 99.96%), a strong focus on product affordability and hygiene, an experienced founding team led by Ashoka Fellow and award-winning social entrepreneur Saif Rashid, and proven ability to improve worker retention and productivity for partner factories. However, as an SME operating in the competitive Bangladeshi retail tech and worker services sector, the Company is subject to customary business risks, including but not limited to intense competition from traditional retailers and larger e-commerce platforms; dependency on factory partnerships and payroll systems; fluctuations in raw material prices and supply chain availability; regulatory changes affecting food safety, labor laws, or digital finance; potential credit defaults despite strong historical recovery; dependency on logistics and technology infrastructure; and macroeconomic factors such as inflation, currency volatility, or shifts in the RMG industry. The Company has no history of major public defaults, insolvency proceedings, or material adverse regulatory actions to date. All projections and growth assumptions are forward-looking and inherently uncertain. Prospective investors must conduct their own due diligence. This summary does not constitute investment advice, a warranty of performance, or a guarantee against loss.",
  "projectedTotalReturnPctMax": 6,
  "projectedTotalReturnPctMin": 6,
  "riskPaymentDelaySummaryText": "Apon Bazaar employs a disciplined approach to managing potential ROI delays: Proactive Monitoring: ROI is carefully managed through continuous cash flow monitoring and detailed operational planning. This ensures timely monthly payouts to investors wherever possible. Portfolio Buffering: Apon operates multiple factory outlets and offers a wide range of essential products. This diversification allows underperformance in one area, such as soybean oil to be effectively covered by the collective positive cash flows from other products and locations, providing a natural safety net for returns. Transparency: In the rare event of any delay, the company is committed to full transparency. Apon ensures prompt and clear communication with investors, along with a prioritized resolution timeline to minimize impact and maintain trust. This structured approach, supported by diversified operations and strong financial oversight, helps protect investor returns while supporting Apon Bazaar’s mission of delivering essential services and financial inclusion to industrial workers in Bangladesh.",
  "investmentUtilizationPlanText": "The proposed BDT 1 crore debt investment will be utilized primarily to strengthen Apon’s working capital in order to support its growing sales volume and ensure smooth day-to-day operations. A portion of the fund will be allocated to asset financing for two newly onboarded EPZ shops, covering shop setup, equipment, and initial inventory to enable efficient operations from the start. Overall, the funding will provide Apon with the financial flexibility required to manage expansion, scale sustainably, and continue delivering reliable and affordable services to its worker communities.",
  "riskPossessionOfAssetsSummaryText": "Apon Bazaar maintains a strong physical and digital infrastructure to effectively serve its 240,000+ industrial workers across Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment sector: Phygital Network: The company operates 55 active factory-based shops that seamlessly integrate physical retail outlets with a user-friendly mobile app. This hybrid “phygital” model allows workers to shop conveniently inside the factory premises or through their phones, offering both speed and accessibility while reducing time and travel costs. Inventory Management: Apon maintains a diverse and well-managed inventory of over 2,200 SKUs, covering essential groceries, daily commodities, toiletries, and fresh perishables including meat and fish. The company applies strict quality control and hygiene standards to ensure all products are safe, authentic, and of reliable quality — reinforcing its commitment to “Quality That You Can Trust.” This robust infrastructure enables Apon to deliver consistent availability of high-demand products at discounted prices, while its digital platform supports efficient ordering, credit management, loyalty programs, and real-time inventory tracking. The combination of physical presence inside factories and digital tools creates a scalable and resilient operational backbone that supports both worker satisfaction and sustainable business growth."
}