Startup Profile: Glovo

  • Glovo is a Barcelona-based delivery startup founded by Oscar Pierre, Sacha Michaud in 2015. 
  • Glovo is the fastest-growing delivery company in Europe, Latin America and Africa, operating in 22 countries, more than 300 cities and completing more than 100 million orders annually.
  • The startup has raised a total of $513.1 million in funding over eight rounds.

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About Glovo

Glovo was founded by CEO Oscar Pierre and Sacha Michaud. Their vision was to make all urban services available on-demand. While food is a large part of the business, Glovo will deliver any product within your city at any time of day. The company’s mission is to make city life easier and smarter. It aims to be more than just another delivery app and offer services for all your needs. 

The startup has raised a total of $513.1 million in funding over eight rounds. Their latest funding, in December 2019, was lead by Mubadala Capital and Ventures Europe, raising $167 million in a Series E round.  

 

How Does It Work?

Glovo’s service runs through its mobile app platform which operates in Europe, LatAm and Africa. The deliver-anything app can deliver takeaway food as well as other urban conveniences, including groceries, pharmaceuticals, tech products, hardware, gifts and much more. Glovo partners with large chains as well as independent stores to make their products available to the city on-demand. The couriers that make the deliveries are independent workers who connect to the platform through a smartphone. They use their own vehicle to fulfil the orders.

 

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A ‘Glover’ on-demand courier.

When using the app, you have three options. You can buy something from a restaurant or store in any of the categories. You can provide a pick-up point to send something of your own to any destination. Or, you can request something through the platform and Glovo will try to fulfil it. The platform’s geolocation allows customers to track deliveries in real-time. Glovo runs its services 24/7, and the app calculates the delivery fee by distance, so the closer it is, the cheaper it is. You can also sign up to the subscription service and become a Glovo Prime member, giving you free deliveries for selected stores and exclusive promotions.

 

Glovo in 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19 and enforcement of lockdown measures has seen a massive spike in demand for some of Glovo services. In particular, people are using the app for pharmacy and grocery deliveries. In Spain, they saw a 60% growth in pharmaceutical orders during the first week of isolation. Glovo has taken action to ensure that everyone can access medicine during this difficult time by removing the delivery fee for pharmaceutical orders in Spain. They have also removed charges in Portugal and tried to offer reduced prices in other countries such as Italy.

Glovo states: “Our main goal is to offer our services to help people, especially the elderly, vulnerable and most at-risk members of society, during this very difficult period.” The company’s ‘#PidePorDelivery campaign also encouraged customers to continue ordering from and supporting restaurants that are struggling maintain an income.  

 

 

The company has been affected by a decrease in orders globally since the outbreak. As 90% of their independent restaurant and business partners went offline, a 50% drop in orders affected key markets. Glovo aims to develop its tech capabilities in 2020. Co-founder of Glovo, Sacha Michaud states: “Our projections for this year, like almost every other business, has been completely changed by this crisis. We will now focus our tech capabilities on our core business, developing solutions that can help our users, partners and couriers navigate city living in the coming months.”