Meet Kapor: The digital middleman connecting RMG buyers and sellers

Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of the ready-made garments (RMG) products in the world. In 2020, the export value of RMG in Bangladesh amounted to approximately $27.95bn. This sector is responsible for the livelihoods of 4.22 million RMG workers in the country.

Setting up an RMG factory entails overcoming great difficulties, as large sums of money must be poured into all of the various supply chains that make RMG manufacturing possible, and doing so costs hours, days, months, if not years.

The typical supply chain of any RMG manufacturing and export-oriented factory calls for buying houses and agents who act as middlemen between the seller and the buyers. More often than not, uninvited complications follow these buying agents, causing both the seller and buyer to suffer and spend more time on closing a deal than necessary. 

'Kapor,' an RMG-based e-commerce startup, is about to change the game by reaching a buyer directly, bypassing buying agents entirely.

In essence, Kapor is an online B2B e-commerce platform that allows clothing retailers and fashion brands in Canada to directly place their orders to a Bangladeshi RMG manufacturer. 

Ahmed Rabib Towsif initiated this venture as part of a project for his Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme at Smith School of Business, Queen's University, Canada. 

Ahmed Rabib Towsif

However, as the Covid-19 pandemic tightened its grip on all aspects of human life, Towsif noticed that many RMG manufacturers were losing business as a result of order cancellations, leading to the loss of many jobs. The biggest losers here were small to medium-scale manufacturers. 

Towsif saw it as an opportunity and thought of establishing Kapor as a one-stop RMG manufacturing platform which will give buyers instant access to manufacturers in Bangladesh.

"So I thought, what if I created an online platform for these manufacturers to receive direct orders from buyers?" It would open up another channel for them to find orders," Towsif stated, adding, "Although we are the second-largest exporter of RMG, the number of countries to which we export is currently very limited. Creating an online platform to place orders in Bangladesh would give our manufacturers an outlet to receive orders from all over the world." 

When Towsif was planning 'kapor.ca' in 2019, he could not find similar service providers online. So he took this opportunity to address the gap in the market through his new start-up.

"The pandemic only boosted my idea. But we are not trying to attract any sort of competition. We only want to streamline the existing RMG channels and make business simpler," Towsif clarified.

Along with Towsif, who has five years of experience in entrepreneurship in education and e-commerce, Yasser Yousuf Khan, who has 18 years of experience in the RMG manufacturing sector, co-founded Kapor.

How does Kapor work?

To know more about how Kapor works, we asked Towsif to explain the ABCs of Kapor. 

"Our system is extremely easy to use. A buyer in Canada can log in to 'kapor.ca' and upload their order details to the website. Then, a manufacturer in Bangladesh can log in to the site and view the orders the buyer has placed based on which he can give a quotation to the buyer directly," the entrepreneur said.

He added, "Buyers have the option to choose 'quality check' and 'inhouse fashion designer support' as added services in exchange for a small fee. But there is no registration or subscription fee. We only make money if the manufacturing company in Bangladesh makes any money." 

Towsif and Yasser launched the website only a month ago and are currently enlisting RMG manufacturers from Bangladesh. "We have also started promoting our website to Canadian buyers and so far, the response has been very positive," Towsif informed.

Kapor's innovative business model makes it extremely cost effective for both the manufacturers and buyers as they no longer need to reserve big cuts as commissions for the middlemen. At the same time, buyers can save a lot of money since they will no longer need to travel overseas in search of reliable RMG suppliers. 

We asked Towsif about the types of RMG products with which they will primarily do business. "We are enlisting both knit and woven manufacturing companies from Bangladesh, ranging from clothing wear to bed sheets. But the options are limitless," he responded.

If a buyer wants to place an order for a product that is not listed on Kapor's site, they can personally request for the product through the site, which will then be forwarded to Kapor's pool of RMG manufacturers. 

The viability of the platform 

The concept of Kapor is brilliant in theory. However, it is also very new. So what does Towsif have to say about the viability of such digital platforms in the future?

"I think the future is very bright. The RMG industry in Bangladesh will continue growing in the coming years and such platforms would help accelerate the process," he said 

"Previously, RMG buyers had to fly to different continents in search of manufacturers, but not anymore. Now, they can simply search online and find suppliers," he continued.

At the same time, thanks to e-commerce and digitisation of major service sectors, manufacturers can now stop paying huge commissions to RMG middlemen. The hassle of setting up buying houses abroad to find buyers can also be skipped. 

Towsif stated, "Since it is becoming more cost effective for the manufacturers, they can quote the buyers better prices which would help us compete better on the world stage." 

He hopes Kapor will contribute to the post-pandemic economic recovery, when global businesses resume and RMG manufacturers and buyers resume receiving and placing orders.

"We began as a very small startup with a very simple web platform. In the future, we hope to build a much more sophisticated website. In addition, we are currently only targeting the Canadian market. But, as we grow, we hope to be able to start targeting other countries as well," Towsif said.

Manufacturers in Bangladesh can register by visiting www.kapor.ca and click "Register as a Supplier" or directly visit https://kapor.ca/pages/supplier-registration-portal.