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Ordinary to digital retailers: A dream is coming true!

Aslam is a resident of a small village in Shibpur Upazila of Narsingdi. All the awesome stories that are happening now in his little tea stall, still look like a dream to him! For so many years, his tea stall, where people used to come only to drink tea and hang out, is now the place where villagers can get almost all products, they could usually only purchase from big shopping malls. Aslam now has a digital tab in his hands and has also become quite adept at running his business. Whenever the villagers come to him and ask for any product, he orders them online with the tab. His tea stall is currently decorated with colorful signboards, festoons, banners hanging in front of his shop, where the oath of Shopoth to deliver the right product at the right time is communicated, and “Shopoth Agent” is written in big letters on the signboard.

But how did this change occur all of a sudden? Let us know the story from Aslam. The tea stall owner Aslam said, “When I first heard about the Shopoth, I was not optimistic and confident about the platform. How is it possible to get all the products available in shopping malls in a small tea stall like mine?! Then the representatives of Shopoth visited my tea stall and explained to me the business model of Shopoth. They also gave me full training on how to use the tab, how to place orders, and overall business process.” He also said, “What surprised me the most was that I became an agent of the Shopoth without investing any capital. I never imagined that I would be able to provide services like the Bashundhara Shopping Mall of Dhaka in my small tea stall, that too without capital. Not only I am earning more from the commission on the selling price, but also the villagers are benefiting from the service. Sales have also increased as they have gained confidence in e-commerce.”

The first omnichannel service of Agami Limited is Shopoth which is a retail-based e-commerce site that provides a seamless online shopping experience through all our trusted retail stores. The founders of Shopoth said that their platform has been created for rural communities. Shopoth.com has started its journey in Narsingdi and the greater Khulna region on 31st January 2021. The core objective of Shopoth is to modernize and improve the quality of life of everyone living in rural areas. Shopoth Agents do not need to invest any capital to take the product to their shops. Shopoth is providing them with a digital tablet and required training free of charge. They are also getting a certain commission for every order completed in their shop. Shopoth is changing the lives of small traders in remote areas.

Sarajit Baral, the CEO of Shopoth, said, “Even though our initiative is small at the moment, our dream is much bigger than this. We are currently working in all the districts, Upazilas of greater Khulna, and all the villages of Narsingdi. We will expand our business and services across the country very soon.” The initial journey of Shopoth started with 50-60 shops but now 500 retailers in Narsingdi and Khulna have become agents of Shopoth. Each retailer received a tab as well as the necessary training. Sarjit Baral said, “We stock products in our local warehouse beforehand. As a result, it is possible to supply goods to the buyer very quickly.” He added, “We are getting huge responses from the local retailers. Many retailers are now interested in becoming our Shopoth agents. Our goal is to improve their quality of life. In the era of online shopping, our goal is to make sure these ordinary retailers don’t fall behind.”

Shopoth is trying to bring people from remote areas into a digital ecosystem. We want to improve the lifestyle of retailers from the marginalized communities and minimize digital literacy inequality with the assistance of digital technology.