Glovo expands operations in Africa

Leading global technology platform expands its operations in Ghana, and launches in Tunisia, with plans to hire top talent in these markets, raising the bar for fast on-demand delivery and strengthening its commitment to providing users with affordable access to products across Africa

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Glovo, one of the world’s leading multi-category delivery platforms, today announced the expansion of its operations in Africa, to include Ghana and a new entry to Tunisia, bringing its current operations to a total of seven countries on the continent.

Following the expansion, an estimated 6.5 million more people will be able to access Glovo’s app across Africa, as the company continues its mission to make everything, within all towns and cities, available to everyone.

Glovo’s investment in the region to date is worth a combined total of $30M (UGX 110bn) and the company expects to invest an additional $60M (UGX 220bn) over the next 12 months to further accelerate its expansion. The company believes there are a number of key markets in Africa that are currently underserved and recognises the unique opportunity for the platform within local communities by supporting local stores and restaurants, and helping them reach new customers online.

The Glovo app is already available in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, bringing its services to more than 40 cities, more than 300,000 users, 8,000 restaurants and 12,000 couriers. Glovo initially launched operations in Accra in Ghana earlier this year, with the city of Tema following last month and it expects to launch in Tunis in Tunisia this October.

According to the Uganda Communications Commission Q2 2021 report, 2.7 Million new mobile devices (16% growth) were added to the networks over a period of twelve months until June 2021. Additionally, an estimated 30% (approx. 810k) are accounted to be smartphones and gadgets. This growth presents a great opportunity for users to get easy access to convenience through platforms like Glovo.

Saqib Munir,  Country Manager of Glovo, said: “Africa is a key market for Glovo and with the accelerated growth of smartphone use, we couldn’t be more excited to be expanding our services in Africa.”

“Our vision is to give everyone easy access to anything in their city, and our platform enables that by connecting users, couriers and businesses, most of which are local restaurants and independent stores. We also believe there’s a huge untapped opportunity to help accelerate digitalisation of businesses as well as meet the rising demand for online shopping and deliveries. We’re looking forward to making food, groceries, pharmaceuticals and retail products available at highly affordable rates to our new users at the touch of a button.”

Following its other acquisitions earlier this year in Central and Eastern Europe, Glovo has increased its operations to 23 countries, with its presence in Africa accounting for more than 30 percent of its geographical footprint.

Glovo already has core local leadership teams in place in its established countries in Africa and the company is committed to continuing its policy to hire top local talent. During the initial phase of its new expansion, the company plans to double its number of employees and add another 200 employees across the region by the end of 2022.