Waroong

Bridging the gap between in-store retail & e-commerce.

Inspired by "warung," the Malay word for a small family-owned business, we at Waroong Inc. aim to connect such shops throughout the world to local customers. Our first launch market is Bangladesh where independently-owned stores even in major cities are not discoverable online compared to the e-commerce companies that dominate search results. This lack of web presence can be due to limited digital literacy, inadequate resources to maintain a webpage, or just a lack of interest in conducting business digitally. Thus, it is harder for smaller, independently-owned stores to reach an increasingly digital population, a problem that will only grow if left unaddressed.

As a result, digital education is one of the key components of our solution. We plan to hold hundreds of free local (in-person) workshops where merchants can gain basic (i.e. getting online) to advanced (i.e. social media marketing) digital literacy skills that will benefit them in the business world and beyond. To directly put these skills to use, store owners can subscribe to our mobile-first web application which:

1. Gets independent shops online through an easy-to-use searchable directory of everyday consumer packaged goods. 

2. Enables consumers to digitally browse and pay for products in advance of picking them up in-store at their convenience.* 

3. Integrates with popular local mobile payment systems to facilitate quick and direct transactions between consumers and merchants.

Essentially, Waroong is a solution that responds to global trends such as e-commerce's disruption of retail, low digital adoption rates among independent businesses worldwide, and the rise of mobile payment systems to drive financial inclusion within the developing world. 

Our ultimate goal is to blur the line between online and offline shopping. By combining technology and digital education, we will foster an advanced commerce environment, one where efficient online transactions increase meaningful in-store interactions. In doing so, we will pioneer the next generation of commerce in Bangladesh and beyond by equipping independent business owners with the resources they will need to remain competitive in the digital economy.

We have no direct competitors, because we have a unique value proposition that combines e-commerce, digital education, and in-store retail. The companies listed in the linked document cover some aspects of what Waroong does, but no company matches our offerings exactly. View competitor list here. 

*There is no delivery feature on Waroong at this time, as we are committed to encouraging in-store retail activities and retaining a sense of community.

Our solution is innovative in the subtle way that it slips into common consumer behaviors in Bangladesh by integrating mobile payment systems into the Waroong platform. Mobile payments have already changed how people spend, send, and receive money in Bangladesh by providing unbanked populations with access to financial services. We can amplify that impact through Waroong, ensuring that more Bangladeshis can participate in the rapidly-growing digital economy.

In addition to leveraging mobile payments systems, Waroong is inherently technological as a Progressive Web App (PWA). The PWA's caching mechanism works around storage limitations of low-end smartphones and saves users' bandwidth by downloading app data only when absolutely necessary. PWAs are also platform agnostic, allowing access from any browser on a mobile or desktop device with internet connectivity. To further optimize the app, product uploading for merchants will be aided by Google Cloud Vision (image recognition API), reducing human error such as mislabeling.

By the end of summer 2018, we will test run four digital literacy workshops and test launch our minimal viable product in New York City with at least 100 independently-owned stores. Our goal is to test the core products and services of Waroong before full-market launch in Bangladesh.

By the end of 2018, we plan to launch Waroong in Dhaka in partnership with a major mobile payment service provider, with the goal of acquiring at least 50,000 merchants and 5,000 daily active customers by July 2019. We also aim to conduct at least 100 workshops during this period. 

Over the next three to five years we plan to scale Waroong and take it to at least five more countries around the world where mobile payment systems are gaining momentum. By 2023, we aim to have at least one million active merchants on our platform globally. Moreover, by that time we envision our digital literacy workshops to also function as a standalone service that can be launched in any country.

We have identified that many of our potential Bangladeshi consumers and merchants are active on social media platforms where we can advertise to them directly as they browse the web. We will also deploy on-the-ground teams to visit shops and invite shop owners to Waroong's platform and free digital literacy workshops, especially those who are not yet online. Once we have acquired users through these strategies, we will retain them with ongoing support through the app, a variety of workshops, and performance-based incentive programs. 

By July 2019, we hope to be serving at least 50,000 merchants and 5,000 daily active customers through the Waroong marketplace and our free digital literacy workshops. While the platform will make them discoverable online and drive sales through new customer interactions, the workshops will provide them with skills that can be applied to other parts of their lives. In the following years, we hope to expand the workshops to specifically serve marginalized and minority groups such as women entrepreneurs, refugees, and individuals with disabilities. 

Our team comprises of a diverse set of skills and networks that enable us to attract the different resources needed to succeed and make an impact with Waroong. I am a design, data, and marketing professional with private and nonprofit experience. Samiha has a nonprofit and for profit background in public relations, events, and development. We are both also fluent in Bengali. Stephen has extensive consulting experience in international law and business strategy, bringing to Waroong his expertise in working with large corporations. Together, we have an international reach with personal and professional connections in Bangladesh, China, and the US.

Our revenue will come primarily from the subscription fees that merchants will be charged to make their stores discoverable through Waroong. Our projected fees start at the low-tier subscription cost of only 500 BDT (~$6) per month and scale all the way up to 2000 BDT (~$25) per month for larger businesses. Our pricing model is conscious of the per capita income of 10,000 BDT (~$120) per month in Bangladesh, meaning a store can potentially increase its monthly revenue by investing as little as 5 percent of the owner's monthly income. 

This low barrier to entry will encourage merchants to sign up and remain with Waroong for the long term. Once this relationship is established, we will execute a secondary revenue source through corporate partnerships and agreements with companies who wish to advertise to independent business owners.

We are applying to Solve because we want to take Waroong into the world with the right partners. Solve can connect us to organizations, corporations, talent, and mentors who can guide us in the most prosperous direction. Moreover, having the support of Solve and MIT will give us the credibility needed to approach other companies and individuals for partnerships. 

It is crucial that the Waroong platform has a large volume of merchants from the very beginning to give us a competitive edge. To ensure that our platform never has a shortage of merchants, we need strategic partnerships with organizations that already work with independent businesses and can refer us to the communities they serve. Solve can help us navigate this potential barrier by connecting us with such global organizations like BRAC and Grameen.