Posted by Mumbai: IFFCO, the world’s largest processed fertilizer cooperative has launched a social e-commerce app and web portal – IFFCO iMandi to connect and cater to over 55 million farmers across rural India.The company’s future plan is to take all e-commerce and digital initiatives on the IFFCO iMandi platform.
iMandi is a strategic investment by IFFCO eBazar Ltd, which is 100% subsidiary of IFFCO with iMandi Pte Ltd, a Singapore based technology company promoted by experienced professionals, having vast experience in agriculture industry and mobile / internet technologies. The objective of this initiative is to bring the benefits of digital technologies to every farmer and bring the digital revolution to rural India.
“After spearheading the campaign across India to sensitize the farmers about the use of online and digital transactions, we are proud to come up with an app ‘IFFCO iMandi’. It is a “One Stop Shop” for agri inputs & produce, FMCG, electronics, loans, insurance, etc. iMandi will address all needs of the farming community and aims to cater to captive user base of 55 million farmers,” said Dr. US Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO.
“IFFCO and iMandi are certain that through this Indian cooperative digital platform, they will be able to bring about a large scale social transformation in every home, every village and will empower a billion lives through its digital inclusive technology,” said V. K. Agarwal, Founder – iMandi Pte Ltd.
This project will be implemented on an unparalleled reach and scale. Therefore, iMandi shall be India’s largest rural social e-commerce play by utilizing exclusive access to IFFCO`s more than 55,000 PoS (point of sales, 36,000 cooperative societies, more than 30,000 warehouses and having access to 250 million rural consumers at 16,000 Pin codes, covering over a third of India.
Apart from fulfilling the requirement through various marketplaces, it is also supported with communication (chat & calling), entertainment and information / advisory content to keep the farmers engaged. The social and communication features will enable people from different regions to connect on a single platform. Users can join various forums based on different topics of interest; they can talk to subject-matter experts and get advice on various problems. What’s more, they can also share their success stories with others.
The unique architecture of iMandi App enables it as an inter-operable on both 2G+ feature phones and 3G+ smartphones. Apart from Hindi and English, this app will be available in over 10 regional languages, to cater to every farmer in India. It is designed keeping in mind global standards, with a focus on rural Indian audiences.