Apon launches community shop at Adamjee EPZ

Apon has launched its 55th outlet at Adamjee Export Processing Zone (AEPZ), celebrating the company's ninth anniversary and introducing its second community shop—an important step in expanding worker welfare programmes.

The outlet was inaugurated on Saturday at AEPZ in Narayanganj. Abdur Rahman Bhuiyan, Executive Director of Adamjee EPZ, presided as the chief guest, accompanied by senior leaders from Apon, the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), and factory managers from the zone.

A press release notes the new outlet will serve workers from all 46 factories within AEPZ, offering affordable groceries, financial services, and healthcare benefits beyond individual factory boundaries. This expansion builds on Apon's first community shop in Karnaphuli EPZ and reflects deepening collaboration with BEPZA to boost worker welfare.

Founded in 2017 by Saif Rashid, an Ashoka fellow, Apon has grown from a pilot project into a national platform supporting more than 200,000 workers through its retail network and digital app. The company asserts its services help workers save on essential goods and avoid costly informal loans.

Under Apon's model, workers buy groceries using zero-interest credit, which is repaid after payday. Frequent purchases unlock benefits such as complimentary health insurance. The company explains that this method seeks to enhance workers' financial stability and social protection.

At the inauguration, Yasir Arafat, Co-Founder and Director of Apon, called the 55th outlet opening on the company's ninth anniversary a major milestone. He noted that working with BEPZA is part of a larger movement to establish worker wellbeing as routine rather than exceptional.

Apon stated the new Adamjee EPZ outlet embodies its wider mission to weave wellbeing services into industrial zones and help workers raise real incomes by cutting daily costs and reducing financial risk.