Karandaaz, Kissan Gudam to expand digital financing
KARACHI: Karandaaz Pakistan has entered into a partnership with Kissan Gudam, a venture of Hajisons Group, to support the development of digital financing and modern agricultural storage solutions for smallholder farmers, according to a statement issued by the organisations on Sunday.
Under the partnership, the organisations will combine storage infrastructure, digital financial services and market access to enable farmers to store their produce, access financing against warehouse receipts and connect with markets.
The initiative will use Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR)-based financing, under which stored agricultural produce can be used as collateral for obtaining credit. The partners said the model is intended to help farmers reduce post-harvest losses, improve market transparency and gain access to formal financial services.
Kissan Gudam’s model incorporates hermetic storage technology supplied by US-based GrainPro. According to the statement, the company’s hermetic cocoons are portable and can be installed closer to farming communities than conventional warehouse facilities.
The organisations said the storage system is intended to preserve the quantity and quality of crops while reducing transportation-related costs and losses. The stored produce can also serve as collateral for financing under the proposed digital system.
Karandaaz Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Waqas ul Hasan said the initiative combines storage infrastructure and market linkages with access to finance, arguing that credit alone is insufficient to address the requirements of Pakistan’s agricultural economy.
Kissan Gudam Chief Executive Officer Farhan Tahir said the partnership would provide farmers with access to storage, formal credit and markets, while supporting financial security and climate-resilient storage.
Kissan Gudam Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Anam Tahir said the platform’s digital wallet would be linked to the warehouse infrastructure. According to him, this would allow stored produce to be verified and used as collateral, with financing potentially being disbursed in minutes rather than the weeks traditionally required.
The partnership is also aimed at expanding Kissan Gudam’s post-harvest storage network across rural Pakistan.
The signing ceremony was attended by Tom A. Peter, Economic Officer at the US Embassy in Islamabad, who described the partnership as an example of US-Pakistan cooperation in agriculture, citing the use of GrainPro’s hermetic storage technology.
The organisations said the initiative would focus on expanding smallholder farmers’ access to modern storage, financial services and market opportunities through a digitally enabled agricultural value chain.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026