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Embargoed until 9 AM PDT - October 03, 2023

Ganaz Introduces A New Kind of H-2A Program

Improving the H-2A Experience for both Growers and Workers

Seattle, WA — October 3, 2023 — The agricultural industry has witnessed a significant surge of interest in the H-2A program, with the number of visas issued nearly doubling to 300,000 between 2017 and 2022. The program is complex and expensive, and employers are looking for a better ROI from their H-2A investment. In response, Ganaz proudly unveils its comprehensive H-2A program, an innovative solution designed to transform the recruitment and management of foreign agricultural workers, benefiting both employers and workers alike.

Ganaz is a People Platform built for agriculture that offers digital onboarding, communications, payroll cards, and now a tech-powered, mission-driven H-2A program. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Ganaz is dedicated to leveraging technology to foster well-being and prosperity for industry, workers, and their communities. The H-2A program, when executed effectively, supplies employers with a dependable workforce and unlocks socio-economic transformation within communities. 

Without effective and transparent recruitment, however, employers may end up with workers who are a poor fit for agricultural work or are unmotivated to do more than the bare minimum, especially as the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, the minimum wage employers are required to pay H-2A workers, continues to rise. This leaves employers saddled with the expense of either finding replacement workers or shelling out thousands of dollars a week in minimum wage make-up expenses. Transparency in recruiting also benefits workers, who too often may be asked to pay illegal fees to secure these coveted jobs. In one investigation, 58% of H2 workers reported paying an illegal recruitment fee. 

Ganaz’s H-2A platform allows employers to search, sort, and select workers who have been rigorously vetted based on their skills, experience, motivation, emotional intelligence, and mental health. Ganaz also conducts extensive training before workers cross the border. 

Tiffany Davis, Business Manager at K&K Orchard Management, shared her experience. "This first [H-2A] contract we did with Ganaz was the smoothest contract we've ever had. We loved the milestone tracker, it was helpful to refer back to during such a busy time of year. Having Ganaz conduct worker training and issue the Payroll Card in Mexico was a huge help–it saved us a lot of time. It was a really solid process from A to Z.”

Three Pillars of Ganaz's H-2A Program

1. End-to-End Visibility: Providing peace of mind that employers' filings and employees’ arrival are on track, workers have been rigorously vetted, and ethical recruitment practices are in place at every step along the way. 

2. Ready to Work: Ganaz-recruited workers are more prepared thanks to comprehensive training in Mexico, and we save growers time by completing their onboarding paperwork, presenting training content, and issuing payroll cards in Mexico. 

3. Extended Support: Ganaz empowers employers with integrated tools to access data and records and communicate with their H-2A workforce throughout the year.

“Our comprehensive H-2A program is a key component in our pursuit of an end-to-end people platform for agriculture. The H-2A program is growing fast and is so complex; it creates a perfect environment for disruptive innovation. Our team is here for the mission–to make life better for workers and growers, and H-2A is such a tangible way for us to put our commitment to excellence and our values to work,” said Ganaz Co-Founder and CEO, Hannah Freeman.

About Ganaz

Founded in 2017, Ganaz is a People Management Platform for agriculture and food processing. Ganaz offers digital onboarding, communications, payroll cards, and H-2A software and services. Ganaz also integrates with the leading timekeeping and payroll software systems, including Hectre, HeavyConnect, Pago, Fieldclock, Datatech, Famous, UKG, Paycom, and many more.

For more information, press only:

(831) 200-3313

info@ganaz.com

Media Kit - Images:

Media Kit - Ganaz Co-Founder and CEO Interviews

Why did you start Ganaz?

My whole career has been driven by the belief that you can build a virtuous cycle between workers, employers and downstream retailers and consumers. I was at Fair Trade USA for many years building that belief into a thriving market for Fair Trade produce. And while I was there, I watched farmworkers adopt cell phones and then smart phones. The industry was trying to solve huge problems including a painful labor shortage, food safety, and compliance with complicated labor laws. White collar industries had their pick of incredible people platforms like Gusto. But in agriculture, there wasn’t a single software platform that had figured out how to serve this industry well–to help it run more efficiently and take better care of its workers. I figured we could build that and build it better than anyone else because we intimately understood each part of the supply chain and really cared about each of them.

Full interview: Founders’ Co-op: Founder Spotlight: Hannah Freeman, Ganaz CEO

Other Hannah Freeman interviews:

The Last Harvest - The Film

The Last Harvest offers a rare glimpse into the hopes, hardships, and uncertain futures of three family growers. Harvesters face a harsh reality of tightened immigration control and inefficient guest worker programs that prevent growers from finding a workforce to pick their fields. These problems threaten our availability of fresh food and our vibrant and thriving agricultural community.

Organic Produce Network: Driscoll’s “The Last Harvest” Shown at OGS

The fourth panelist was Hannah Freeman of Ganaz, Inc., who was a former worker advocate. She explained that Ganaz has built a workforce management platform that helps employers maintain a connection with their workers through their smartphones during and after the season. She said constant communication with your workers is the best way to get them to come back the following year. The two-way texting also allows the worker to express concerns and keep the employer ahead of the game when there are issues.

GeekWire: Ganaz raises $7M for agriculture workforce software, will expand with new financial tools

Seattle-based Ganaz, a startup focused on bringing workforce management and financial tools to the agricultural sector, has raised $7 million in Series A round. The new funding follows a year of growth for the startup that saw its customer base increase nearly 10X during the COVID-19 pandemic. It now serves more than 175,000 food industry workers.

GeekWire: Ganaz raises $2.1M to grow app connecting farmers with seasonal workers

For over a year, Hannah Freeman has dedicated her life to solving a big pain point for farmers and workers: finding each other and communicating. That’s the mission of Ganaz, the startup she co-founded with Sri Artham in the spring of 2017. Earlier this month, her vision got a financial boost. Ganaz just closed a $2.1 million round of funding.