Creation of a Digital Marketplace for Tea Enterprises

While Nepal has made significant advances in the tea sector, there are still many issues impeding this industry such as the use of middlemen, lack of access to international markets, and even a lack of domestic awareness regarding specialty teas. This project attempted to create a digital marketplace that enabled tea producers in Nepal, direct access to their customers, increase online representation, and improve sustainability and fair trade practices. Stakeholder consultations were the first step of the methodological process, which then included website design and planning and development. There are a number of features that highlight the qualities of the website: role-based access, and content management and easily navigated. Extensive testing was completed so that database was stable, secure through role-based access control (RBAC) and generally responsive across multiple devices. The website development was successful, but there were challenges like inconsistencies in tea quality and a lack of training to tea farmers, which is a continuing issue for the sector. There were six tea enterprises profiled, all of which expressed available and willing access to ever-expanding global markets. A number of recommendations were included as a means of support for developing Nepal's tea industry: 1) 'branding of organic products', 2) 'supporting small and medium enterprises', and 3) potential regulatory measurements.