Craft means creating with curiosity, says agri-commodities digital platform founder Gerald Tan
With meticulous care and innovation, the CEO of supply chain solutions provider Agridence resolves the pain points he faced in the industry
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Agridence’s Gerald Tan on building his business: ‘I had to be an eternal optimist’
“Creating solutions to solve problems is a craft,” says Singaporean entrepreneur Gerald Tan. This ethos was what drove him to set up Agridence, a digital platform that facilitates agri-commodities procurement and trading.
The seeds of inspiration to establish the company were sown when Tan took over his family’s business back in 2011 – a move that made him the fourth-generation owner following his father. He had envisioned using his role to make innovative and impactful changes.
At that point, he had become familiar with the challenges of dealing and trading within the agri-commodities industry. “The working process was entirely manual and tedious, and there was no way to trace and track transactions,” he says.
“I remember feeling very frustrated, and wishing there was a centralised platform to communicate with industry players, and to upload and download information easily.”
“It was personal. I was motivated to create a platform for value transfer from downstream [in supply chains that move goods from manufacturers to end consumers] where most of the value is captured to go upstream [with raw materials going to manufacturers], while also including the millions of smallholder farmers without whom it’s impossible to get the raw materials,” Tan explains.
Ultimately, Tan and his team hope to improve the livelihood and sustainability of these farmers.
In the early days of building Agridence, Tan met significant resistance, both within his family and externally. “Industry players were used to doing things one way and were reluctant to adapt. I received a lot of ‘nos’,” he says.
But Tan persisted, and he is proud that his platform has received backing from many reputable companies.
Tan, a cycling enthusiast, attributes his entrepreneurial drive to the sportsman in him. “Growing up, I’ve always been competitive, and I enjoy a good challenge. It’s also important for an entrepreneur to be an eternal optimist.”
He adds: “Craft demands curiosity and persistence. You have to be flexible and always working to improve the process. You have to continually evolve in your craft, too, whatever it may be – you have to keep working at it and never stop.”
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