Rappi's Sales Grew 113% During the First 5 Months of the Pandemic
Rappi sales surged 113% as the pandemic fueled demand, making it LatAm's first Super App.
After the first months of the pandemic, many companies were forced to shut down their operations. However, sales of Rappi’s delivery service and demand for food delivery both grew substantially in Latin America. The App experienced massive growth of 113% during the first five months of 2020.
The startup was founded in 2015 by Felipe Villamarin, Sebastián Mejía, and Simón Borrero, three Colombian entrepreneurs. Rappi entered a software development accelerator program called Y Combinator in 2016, receiving investment funding and In August 2018, the founders raised an additional $200 million. SoftBank also became a major stakeholder in the company in April 2019. Their Rappid growth has allowed the company to expand its operations across several Latin American countries and improve its product faster than other competitors in the area, becoming one of LatAm’s unicorns in the process.
Rappi is quickly becoming the first Super App of Latin America. It has partnered with Banorte in Mexico and with Interbank in Peru to release debit and credit cards powered by Visa. Its Visa partnership also extends to Colombia and Brazil. As the App learns more about consumer habits, it can offer better products and credit to users. “It creates a virtuous cycle, as extending loans to users and partners means more deals within the app,” RappiBank CEO João Paulo Félix said a few months ago.