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It's seven o'clock in the evening on Sunday, it's raining in Bogota and in a reputed restaurant in the north of the city, there is only one customer.
However, the movement of the staff from the place does not stop and orders arrive from the kitchen. every five or ten minutes.
The reason? Motorcyclists and cyclists with huge orange-boxed backpacks arrive to take these orders and take them to their final destination.
His deliverymen of Rappi a company dedicated to the maritime transport (or "Domiciles", as one says in Colombia), that in his few years of life reached unsuspected levels.
The company founded in mid-2015 in Bogota is already present in 27 cities in 6 countries of Latin America.
Even worse, last September, Rappi had managed to become the second "Unicorn" of Colombia (after Lifemiles, Avianca), to become worthy of the mythological name of Silicon Valley for entrepreneurship technology reaching at least USD 1,000,000.
However, despite this rapid growth, Rappi is not immune to criticism.
In fact, last week, dozens of dispatchers of the One Dam (rappitenderos) organized a demonstration in Bogotá, claiming greater income and manpower guarantees as this has already occurred in other countries such as Argentina or Mexico.
"ASK WHAT YOU WANT"
For now, the key to the success of this Colombian venture seems relatively simple: with Rappi, you can not only order meals in a restaurant on rainy days, but also the rappitenderos deliver money to the house, pay their bills, transport their parcels from one place to another and they even make the market of the week.
Since the platform that works on the Web and on mobile phones it is also possible to buy clothes of different brands or to order the iPhone X the same day.
In Bogotá, we often hear that Rappi is "The Amazon of Colombia" in reference to the American online sales giant who can send home.
But society has repeatedly pointed out that its economic model is very different.
"Today, the time spent going to the supermarket can be spent on family life, or the hours that a person had to wait between traffic jams to buy a gift, she can invest in other activities and leave these things in the hands of Rappi, "explained a spokesman for the company at BBC Mundo.
points out that thanks to its option "Ask what you want" has managed to know more precisely the consumption habits of its users and thus improve its offer.
"We sought to surprise people in ] understand their needs and arrive day-to-day with a very robust supply of products and services," the company said.
RAPPI IN FIGURES
Soon, the platform is already present – with different levels of success and services – in Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay . In addition, she announced that she was about to start her operations in Peru.
In total, Rappi has 1,500 employees and 25,000 distributors in the countries in which it operates and estimates indicate that there are only 13 million users in Colombia.
Among other things, the company says it was one of the fastest-growing platforms 200,000 newspaper orders surpbading similar initiatives in the United States, such as Postmates and DoorDash
. In its latest wave of investments, a capital fund that had previously opted for Google and WhatsApp has decided to inject $ 200 million US in favor of the company.
Thus, the company carried out the valuation of more than 1,000 million US dollars, which made it possible to become the 11th unicorn of all Latin America (out of 270 in the world) and to be recognized as the most successful company . of Colombia .
Although undisputed in its home country, Rappi is the undisputed leader in the home market.
Although competition is stronger in Mexico and Brazil r the presence of other companies such as Uber Eats or Glovo.
While the Argentine Mercado Libre, present in 18 countries, dominates e-commerce in the region.
However, this could change if materialize the ambitions of the founders of Rappi.
At a conference at which he spoke about the origins of the company, Simón Borrero, one of the three millennial founders of the company, said that the purpose of the flat -form is to have " a rapper to the world in all the cities of Latin America ."
Some of them feel that society could treat them better, as a demonstration in front of its headquarters in Bogotá on 19 October last
BE RAPPITENDERO (AND VENEZUELAN)
As explained by Kevin Ardila, spokesman of the distributors who participated in this event, the minimum profit per order what they buy is "growing weaker".
Moreover, since there is no direct contract with the company, the deliverymen do not enjoy any social benefits such as social security or leave, he adds.
Several of the rappitenderos who spoke to BBC Mundo confessed that working for Rappi is not what they expected.
Among other things, they said that they should buy the backpacks in the form of a box to carry orders. And, although they are not obliged to do so, they make sure that not having them can harm them when they are chosen to make shipments.
They also complain of having to run with their bicycles and motorcycles, in addition to the essence of the second case.
Caesar, with an undeniable accent, is told BBC Mundo that the agreement is too advantageous for society and quite unfair to rappitenderos .
"We have to accept all the orders we receive, even if they do not suit us, because if we do not receive them, we start receiving less and we can even be suspended for a few days," he said. -he explains.
The young man, who claims to have a temporary residence permit, explains that there is a system called " acceptance rate " which prompts them to make all possible shipments for continue to receive them.
"It happens that we connect to the platform up to 12 hours a day [1945900] 5] to obtain profits and cover the expenses of the day," he explains.
The Venezuelan claims that some of his compatriots must enter into contracts to leave their bicycles near the residential neighborhoods of Bogotá, then cross the city every night. public transport to the isolated neighborhoods where they live.
"The next morning, they come back to travel by bus, pick up the bike and connect (to the application), so every day we give ourselves the means to make the most of it "he explains.
And asking him why he continues to come and go in the north of Bogotá with his orange backpack, Caesar says that most of the job offers for migrants in his country are far worse and less deserved .
"They think they can pay us anything," he laments.
And although neither Rappi nor the Rappitenderos Many of them are Venezuelan what is happening in several other cities and not only in Colombia.
"INDEPENDENT ENTREPRENEURS"
Consulted for these claims, the company indicated that the rappitendero were " independent contractors who had found in Rappi the opportunity to take advantage of economic opportunities and to Extra income. "
"On average, they earn 4,700 Colombian pesos or order (US $ 1.5) .In a productive hour, they can make between 2 and 3 orders.This allows them to earn between 9,500 pesos (3 USD) and 14,000 (US $ 4.40) per hour, "said the company spokesman, offering figures that may be higher than the legal minimum wage per month.
Rappi points out that there is no relationship of subordination or time constraint with the delivery drivers.
"On average, a reporter connects to the demand barely 16 hours a week .Most of them are studying or working in another activity," said the spokesperson .
However, it is a portrait that does not correspond to that painted by Cesar or many other rappitenderos who consulted BBC Mundo.
They test the legal disputes that Uber had and had in various parts of the world, which may force them to badume new obligations or change their business models.
Although, in the case of Rappi, it will not happen overnight, to rebadure those who have become accustomed to depend on their services.
BENEFITS AND PROBLEMS
After using some of the services offered by Rappi, BBC Mundo learned a little more about the operation of the platform
and found that asking for money at home may be cheaper than using a bank machine for a client of a foreign bank or a financial institution other than that of the bank. vending machine (although the service has a limit of about 125 USD).
It is also possible to make the market of the week but lawyers (avocados), tomatoes or bananas, to give just a few examples, do not reach maturity at will.
And it is certainly possible to buy everything to organize a barbecue or a barbecue, but perhaps the meat is less juicy than the one that the user would have chosen.
In fact, among the people consulted by BBC World, there are different criteria regarding the accuracy between what was asked and what was received .
This is partly explained by the fact that users can buy dozens of items from a single order and the available varieties of the same product or brand name vary by supermarket.
Otherwise, when an order is placed in a restaurant, one of the services most requested by Rappi, both the place and the recalls They receive a notification stating that the food is prepared and that the delivery man needs to arrive.
The company has distributed tablets to institutions that work with it to inform them of orders that go through the platform.
] In return, the restaurants pay a percentage of the account to Rappi that they do not like at all, but they recognize that being part of the service usually generates more sales for them .
We were able to verify that the alcoholic beverage order option worked 24 hours a day, although one night rapper told BBC Mundo that he was once badaulted by two people who wanted to take his alcoholic beverages. cellphone. When he was saved, it was that he started screaming for help even though he was injured knee trying to escape.
And The insecurity to which they are exposed is one of the problems that most concern the deliverymen. society.
The company founded less than four years ago by three young people is not the first and it is quite possible that it will not be the last to be involved in controversy.
And its growth figures and its millions of users show that they are reaching their goal of making life easier for those who do not want or can not shop in person.
However, it also shows that this can mean a lot of sacrifices for those who do it. are willing to do them.
* Photos: Andrés Bo and Boris Miranda.
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