“There are very few crazy people out there who could give up the comfort of a well-paid job to start a social enterprise that would solve smallholder farmers’ overlooked problems,” says Subrata Kumar, the founder of bhalo Social Enterprises. We are happy to have a chance to interview him, talk about bhalo’s origins, vision, impact, and get insight on sphere of agriculture, the struggles of small farmers and bhalo’s plans to solve them.
Interview with Bhalo
How did you come up with this idea? What is your origin story?
Between 2012-18, I managed a project for Swisscontact, to improve smallholder farmers’ access to farm inputs, services, finance, and markets, by supporting agribusinesses and financial service providers. However, the project could do little without significant buy-in from the agribusinesses and financial service providers, as its role was passive and temporary by design. I felt a social enterprise could bridge the gap between smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and financial service providers and solve the problem more effectively and sustainably by aggregating and offering complementary products and services. As the realization grew, I decided to move out of my comfort zone, leave Swisscontact, and set up bhalo in early 2019 with minimal resources.
Can you expand on the difficulties you have seen farmers face that influenced you to found bhalo?
Millions of farmers in Bangladesh cannot produce better and earn more for not availing high-quality farm inputs (seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, etc.), not knowing which one is better or how to use it, and not having flexible payment options. This affects their livelihoods and wellbeing. I spent years at Swisscontact trying to find solutions to these problems, only to realize that we cannot change things for good through only development projects. I felt that a social enterprise could solve the problem more effectively and sustainably, and I was best placed to start one because of my experience and the network in the industry.
You said you had very limited resources at the early stages of bhalo, did you receive any funding later on?
Apart from SDGia, we received funding from YGAP Bangladesh, iDE Bangladesh (on behalf of a project of USAID), and Gates Foundation.
Why did you apply for SDG Impact Accelerator ran through the partnership of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, UNDP and UN Technology Bank?
SDG Impact Accelerator looked like a great opportunity that arrived at the right time. We were looking to fix a few things to take our venture to the next stage, and SDGia offered the perfect platform to learn from amazing speakers and mentors and make that move.
Which of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are your main focuses?
bhalo contributes to improving the livelihoods and wellbeing of farmers (SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3) by increasing their production and income, creating access to farm inputs, advice, and finance for women (SDG 5), creating income-earning opportunities for rural youth employed as sales agents (SDG 8), and improving awareness and farmers capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation and impact reduction i.e. making the communities more resilient to climate change (SDG 13).
What kind of global impact did you want to have while designing bhalo?
Honestly, I could not think that far. I wanted to solve the problems of smallholder farmers, even for one district. I felt that I was best placed to undertake an initiative like this than working for some development projects that can hardly bring fundamental changes in how systems work. Although initially, our focus was on very limited geography, I realized that the problem and solutions are relevant for farmers across Bangladesh and other parts of the world.
What kind of impact do you think bhalo has had on people?
Smallholder farmers can access the best quality farm inputs, get the right information and advice, and benefit from transparent pricing and flexible payment options. They have a trusted friend like bhalo who is there to provide reassurance and necessary products and services to produce better and earn more.
What were some of the challenges you have faced, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was to start operation in the last mile with very limited resources. There were more naysayers than believers in the early days; we needed to demonstrate product-market fit and our capabilities of sustaining and growing an operation despite adverse times. However, I was fortunate enough to have a group of ex-colleagues who believed in me and came forward, which made our job easier. The team members also stood firm in the face of the pandemic to keep things steady and recover faster.
What were the reactions of the beneficiaries as you went along?
Our customers/ beneficiaries and suppliers’ trust has kept us going despite the difficulties faced in growing an early-stage enterprise during the pandemic. It became apparent from many conversations that we are creating value for our customers and suppliers. All we need is to find a more efficient and viable model to scale our business and impact.
What were the reactions of the beneficiaries as you went along?
Our customers/ beneficiaries and suppliers’ trust has kept us going despite the difficulties faced in growing an early-stage enterprise during the pandemic. It became apparent from many conversations that we are creating value for our customers and suppliers. All we need is to find a more efficient and viable model to scale our business and impact.
You have faced some challenges while attracting female candidates. What are some of the overlooked difficulties female farmers face?
We are open to recruiting female sales agents and for back-office roles. However, our work requires a lot of travel to the field and working in early and late hours of the day, which is not suitable for most female candidates. Still, our sales agents visit door-to-door and interact with female household members to promote farm inputs and provide after-sales services. Thus, not having female sales agents does not come in our way of creating access to products and services for female household members.
You have built a team of managers and coordinators in the first period of the Implementation Phase; how do you think these additions will affect bhalo?
I had to dedicate a lot of time to support the marketing, operations, and finance functions. Hiring and building a team of managers and coordinators for each function allowed me to focus on other essential business areas–strategy, technology, and fundraising.
