Entrepreneurship

Assignment no. 01

Summary on “Mandi Express”

Submitted by

Abdul Wahab Nasir (02)

BS-EE (2016-2020)

Submitted to

Dr. Tayyab Javed

Submitted on: March 02, 2020.

Summary of a Pakistani Entrepreneurial Startup “Mandi Express”

Summary
Mandi Express is an online Vegetable, fruits, seafood and meat supplying startup based in Karachi,
Pakistan. The main idea is to deliver these products to the end user within minimum time with this
virtual agri-market. The customer is connected directly with the farmer in this idea and the profit
margin of the middle man is saved. Their values are based on quality, fair prices, premium quality
local product, use of technology to ease this process and provide the best customer experience.

The founder and CEO of Mandi Express is Jahanzaib Chaudhary. According to him, Mandi
Express started off as an experiment in permaculture in his backyard after he had spent 3 months
practicing organic farming in Hawaii. He was living in the middle of a rain forest, in a tent for
three months, consuming only organic produce and drinking only filtered rain water. After about
28 days something really strange happened. His entire body was covered in little red spots and
rashes. The body was expelling toxins. It dissipated in a day and the next morning he experienced
for the first time in life how it feels to truly not be sick. His allergies, sinus problems, lethargy,
everything - gone. It changed my life - until I got back to Pakistan on a mission to recreate my
experience there.

What started off as simply a project to grow organic produce became what is Mandi Express today.
His backyard experiment was a success. Now he wanted to scale, and so he went to the
superhighway in search of farmland. Upon speaking to other farmers he learnt first and foremost
that to sell organic produce at that time was next to impossible. The whole sale market or Sabzi
Mandi was and is still run the way things worked at the time of colonial rule. There was no
electricity, no water, no streets, no proper cleaning system, no loading or offloading docks – it was
just a bunch of people who have organized themselves in the way that us Pakistanis do, using what
we know best – “Jugaad” or innovation. This should be considered the most important market in
Pakistan, considering its feeding the 6th largest city in the world! They wanted to automate this
process through an online service.

Figure 1.1: Webpage of Mandi Express

The idea was that, finding good quality vegetables and fruits should be easy. They wanted their
customers to leave the selection, negotiation (haggling) and transport of produce to us and simply
enjoy only the highest quality food from the comfort of their homes. At the same time they wanted
their customers to not have to pay exorbitant amounts for second grade food and actually pay less
than what they would pay at high end grocery stores. Additionally, more variety and every day
fresh produce straight from the Sabzi Mandi was provided as well.
When you visit a local shop to buy produce, most often what people purchase Grade B or worse
items without even knowing it. Changes in prices mean that shop keepers can easily misguide and
over charge. Often times the produce is sitting on racks for several days losing its freshness, flavor
and nutrient value. These are some of the problems that were solved through their service.
They are starting off with Vegetables and Fruits, but will soon start offering organic produce and
specialty seasonal items from the forests up north and nearby countries. They source their produce
from New Sabzi Mandi, from the same suppliers that supply many 5 star Hotels, Upscale
Restaurants and Grocery Stores in Karachi. At the Sabzi Mandi their team of expert buyers actually
hand pick the best quality vegetables and fruits before its sent out for packing. This ensures fresh,
high quality produce that has been selected from a number of different sources. Buyers have over
15 years of experience selecting fruits and vegetables and can be trusted.
The startup capitalizes on the country’s largely agrarian economy and the lack of access to
quality products in urban areas. Incubated at NEST I/O, Mandi Express went on to win gold at
year 2016 Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards (APICTA) Awards.