Congratulations are in order for Agroshift, a Dhaka-based agritech startup which helps farmers sell their produce to businesses and consumers by providing a tech-enabled supply chain, for raising $1.8 million in seed funding.
Technology has often been touted to be the great equalizer in helping Bangladesh leapfrog and accelerate its growth. To that end, it is start-ups like Agroshift who will be leading that charge, identifying needs within the economy and using the power of technology to not just introduce a more efficient system, but in doing so, creating value across society.
Indeed, the fact that Agroshift's efforts are to help millions who are involved in the agriculture sector -- the company intending to build technology solutions to transform the fresh food supply chain and improve the lives of farmers, small businesses, and consumers through which farmers will get better bend and fair prices, and consumers will get fresher and safer products -- should also be noted and applauded.
Indeed, this newspaper has editorialized repeatedly about the importance of our agriculture sector and the need for innovation within, particularly in the wake of today's volatile climate. With Bangladesh set to experience a major turning point as an economy this decade, start-ups like this are more important than ever before.
These are the sort of positive stories that should be the norm and the onus here falls to the authorities concerned to create the sort of environment and culture where start-ups thrive, where ideas are encouraged, and potential failures are not the end of the world. We have seen start-ups become significant companies who have changed the way we think about the world, and only with the right policies and culture in place can a Bangladeshi start-up also achieve such a feat.
