Apon, an impact-driven retail and financial services platform for improving the economic and social wellbeing of industrial workers, inaugurated its 55th shop at Adamjee Export Processing Zone (AEPZ) on Saturday, marking both its ninth anniversary and the launch of its second community shop as stated in the Press Release.
The inauguration was attended by the Chief Guest, Mr. Abdur Rahman Bhuiyan, Executive Director of Adamjee EPZ, alongside senior officials from Apon and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), and factory representatives from AEPZ.
The new outlet is designed to serve workers from all 46 factories within AEPZ, extending access to affordable groceries, financial services, and healthcare benefits beyond individual factory premises. The initiative builds on Apon’s first community shop in Karnaphuli EPZ and signals a growing collaboration with BEPZA to institutionalize worker wellbeing solutions at scale.
Founded in 2017 by Saif Rashid, an Ashoka fellow, Apon has evolved from a single pilot into a nationwide platform serving more than 200,000 workers. Through its network of retail shops and digital app, the organization provides essential goods at discounted rates, helping workers save a meaningful portion of their monthly income while reducing reliance on high-cost informal credit.
At the core of Apon’s model is an integrated approach to financial and social protection. Workers can access groceries through zero-interest credit, repayable upon salary, while regular purchases unlock benefits such as free health insurance; addressing one of the most persistent financial vulnerabilities faced by low-income households.
The model traces its origins to a broader effort to increase workers’ disposable income without requiring wage increases, by lowering the cost of essential goods and linking consumption to a benefits system that includes healthcare access. Apon has expanded this into a more comprehensive ecosystem that combines retail, financial services, and insurance, an approach aimed at long-term financial inclusion and resilience.
Over the years, Apon’s work has received international recognition, including the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge, the Dubai Expo Live Grant, and the MetLife Foundation Inclusion Plus Award. In addition, Saif Rashid was named to the Meaningful Business 100, recognizing his contribution to advancing inclusive business models.
The launch at Adamjee represents a shift toward community-based access, where workers across multiple factories can benefit from a shared service infrastructure. Developed in partnership with BEPZA, this model reflects a coordinated effort between the private sector and government institutions to address systemic gaps in worker welfare.
“Reaching our 55th shop on our ninth anniversary is a defining milestone for Apon,” said Yasir Arafat, Co-Founder and Director of Apon at the inauguration. “What began as an effort to help workers save a few hundred taka each month has grown into a platform that supports their financial freedom, health security, and dignity. Our collaboration with BEPZA is a step toward building an ecosystem where worker wellbeing is not an exception, but a standard.”
For Apon, the expansion into EPZ-based community shops underscores a broader ambition: to embed wellbeing infrastructure directly within industrial ecosystems. As cost-of-living pressures persist for Bangladesh’s workforce, such models offer a pathway to improving real incomes, not by increasing wages alone, but by systematically reducing expenses and financial risk.
The opening of the Adamjee outlet, on the company’s ninth anniversary, stands as both a symbolic and operational milestone, one that reflects Apon’s continued effort to redefine how essential services are delivered to the country’s industrial workers.
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