Here’s why Barcelona-based on-demand delivery startup Glovo had to shut down services in Egypt

In a recent development, Glovo, the fastest growing delivery player in Europe has shut down its operation in Egypt due to financial setbacks. According to Menabytes, the news first surfaced on social media after Glovo’s delivery partners received a message informing them about the decision. The startup had its services available in Cairo and Alexandria.

Glovo shuts down in Egypt!

Barcelona-headquartered on-demand delivery startup informed all their employees about the shut-down a few days ago it seems. However, as per local labour law, each and every employee have been compensated and will continue to work for Glovo for some more days until the wrap-up. According to industry experts, Glovo couldn’t stand against the recent merger of Uber and Careem. Moreover, both Uber and Careem drivers are likely to generate more revenues since they’ve introduced motorbike as an riding option.

Acquired double-digit market share

“All of us are heartbroken. It’s a really sad outcome for each one of us,” said, one of Glovo’s employees. Notably, Glovo employs around 40 people in Egypt. Moreover, it is said that Glovo has some 3,000 active delivery partners in their network in Egypt.

Founded in 2015 by Gerard Olivé, Miguel Vicente, Oscar Pierre, and Sacha Michaud, the company acquired double-digit market share in Egypt within its one year of operation competing against the likes of Delivery Hero’s Otlob. The report also added that 70-80 percent of Glovo’s orders were food deliveries with the rest of accounting for all the other categories.

It’s worth mentioning here that German food delivery giant Delivery Hero owns a 16% stake in Glovo as well by acquiring 15% of stake by investing $57 million last year and another 1% by selling its operations to Glovo in Italy. In another news, Glovo closed its business in Chile as well.

Transforming the way consumers access local goods!

Right now, the company is present in various countries including Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and many more to come. For the uninitiated, Glovo is a Barcelona based tech start-up that is transforming the way consumers access local goods, enabling anyone to get nearly any product delivered in less than 60 minutes. A few days back, Glovo secured €150 million Series D funding led by Lakestar, an international venture capital firm and Drake along with participation from Idinvest Partners and Korelya Capital.

Moreover, Glovo’s on-demand mobile application connects customers with independent local couriers, who acquire goods from any restaurant or shop in a city and also deliver urgent packages for a variable fee. The platform’s features include geo-location, which allows customers to track their deliveries in real time and locate the nearest glover (courier), thus optimizing speed and distance.

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