Demand and supply of agricultural products do not have an efficient way of encountering one another in emerging markets. Small farmers lack access to markets, having to take their products to a town market and hoping to sell it at a good price. Due to high transportation costs, farmers are forced to sell at lower prices, leaving no room for bargaining power on the seller’s side. This problem is notorious in emerging markets, where 95% of farmers have less than 10Ha of land to cultivate.

Grou is a marketplace for agricultural products that allows buyers and sellers to meet in an easy, transparent and efficient way. Grou provides real-time market information to buyers and sellers that is otherwise unavailable. The platform combines the digital channels that sophisticated buyers expect, with offline mechanisms coherent with the cultural and educational backgrounds of farmers. This way, sellers benefit from increased access to markets and buyers benefit from an efficient value chain.