Food delivery app bares new initiatives for MSME growth

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

ON-DEMAND food and grocery platform foodpanda has launched a new lineup of products and initiatives meant to strengthen its support to partner-vendors.

“At foodpanda, we believe in fostering meaningful relationships with our partners. We are eager to share the innovative initiatives and remarkable products we have for them so that together, we can drive progress and revolutionize the online food delivery industry,” foodpanda Philippines Commercial Director Luis Antonio Yanga said during their recent partner-vendors summit, titled “CRAVE: Creating Relationships and Advancing Vendor Experiences.” foodpanda also offers app users exclusive discounts and deals for dine-in orders. To drive growth in this segment, it is introducing an improved QR Code scanning process. bootcamp, a five-month program that supported the growth and commercial viability of green start-ups through mentorship, networking, and crowdfunding matching.

Yanga said their company’s “hypercare” approach ensures that its programs and solutions are fit to the needs of its allied merchants, including those who belong to its pandapick program.

First introduced last year, it allows app users to discover dishes from brands available only on foodpanda. Also, merchants have access to elevated benefits only available to them.

“It is crucial to understand each vendor’s top growth objectives and pain points. From those criteria, we will start to customize the benefits most relevant to them, including additional visibility on the app, marketing support, and tools to drive their growth,” he noted.

This new feature is a response to a rising market demand, as shown the country’s QR Code transactions amounting to P32.7 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Through Tabsquare, partner-merchants will be supplied with QR Codes tagged to their own accounts.

Moreover, restaurant owners can review the transactions via TabSquare’s analytics. “By embracing this innovation, we help streamline restaurant operations and simplify customers’ ordering process. We are confident that by offering services such as dine-in and pick-up, we can greatly enhance the value we provide to our partner vendors. These services are specifically designed to help them effectively meet the ever-evolving demands of today’s consumers,” Yanga said.

Recognizing outstanding entrepreneurial skills of allied merchants, he added that they have recognition programs, such as the CRAVE Awards.

Through this, exceptional partner-vendors were feted for their brand growth, operational excellence and impeccable customer service during the summit.

The commercial director revealed their timely partnership forged with the Online Food Vendors Marketing Cooperative during last month’s MSME Week celebration, encouraging member contribution and shared responsibility among its thousands of partner-merchants and shops that are mostly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

It also offers them a chance to earn interest in their share capital, while expanding their industry network.

The online channel, likewise, tied up with Security Bank Finance to provide allied vendors affordable and accessible loan products.

“We value the opportunity to work alongside DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] in supporting their dedicated efforts to advance the MSME sector—the backbone of our economy,” Yanga said. Based on latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, around 1.076 million establishments, or 99.9 percent of local businesses, fall under the MSME category. They account for about 90 percent of businesses, about 70 percent of employment, and 50 percent of gross domestic product worldwide.

“You can count on our unwavering commitment to contribute to the growth and success of MSMEs as we help drive the nation forward,” he assured.

Of the 20 solutions presented, three start-ups were selected to receive seed funding to develop, implement, and scale up their projects, it said.

These were the Cagayan de Oro organization, the Dumaguete’s Plantsville Health, which developed Green LiveS, an artificial intelligence-powered system that can record and monitor Philippine cinnamon production, and the Manila’s Dewaste Solutions, which created MARE!, a modular and portable materials recycling facility that promotes environmental sustainability through education and provides employment for women in waste management.

“We are very excited to finally run an accelerator program that caters to enterprises that positively impact the environment,” Patch Dulay, founder and CEO of the Spark Project, said. “I believe that programs like these not only level-up entrepreneurs and their businesses, but also connect them to a like-minded community that is eager to support their work.”

US Embassy Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer Pauline Anderson said the program was part of the US commitment to support environmental resilience and promote inclusive economic growth. “The projects we saw in this program showcase the Philippine start-up community and how their talents can build sustainable ecosystems and help achieve prosperity.”

The Green Impact Accelerator teams would convene again in October for the American Spaces Angel Investing Seminar where they would be matched with potential investors and benefit from seed funding opportunities.