This is Glovo
We are Glovo
Glovo provides you access to any product in your city within minutes. We have built a technology that connects customers, local businesses and couriers. All of them have signed up to benefit from our technology.
Our story
2014
Graduation. An entrepreneurial dream. A “v” instead of a “b”.
The story began with Óscar graduating from Georgia Tech in Aerospace Engineering. After an internship at Airbus, he felt the job didn’t fit with his aspirations. Inspired by the first versions of Uber and Postmates, he developed an initial version of an app called Globo – meaning balloon in Spanish. But he changed it to Glovo at the last minute, making it more unique. Soon after, Oscar met Sacha Michaud and they both embarked on one of the greatest rides of their lives.
2015
Glovo at 22 years old. Gathering the team. The app. Investor rounds.
The first round of financing was closed right after Christmas. Glovo started delivering real orders with only two options in the app: “Buy something” and “Send something”. The beginning was tough, with less than 10 orders per day, and the whole team connected 24/7, even doing some deliveries themselves.
2016
Growth. Building a marketplace. From 1.0 to 2.0.
With a team of 20 people, Glovo moved to a bigger co-working space in Barcelona. Growth was still the main concern and money was running out (again). A big strategic decision was made: to build a marketplace of local stores. The first restaurant to sign a partnership with us was an Indian place in Barcelona. Thank you Sindur!
2017
Challenges, losses, and big risks.
With only ten cities and still unable to make a positive operating margin, our losses started growing fast. After being declined by 117 investors, Glovo was able to breathe again thanks to a €25M Series B round. It was time to think big. The business was growing fast among users and within one year we were operating in most South American countries.
2018
International expansion. New business ideas. Tough competition.
At this point, there were lots of competitors trying to conquer new markets. Acting fast was crucial. But spreading ourselves too thin was working against us: we didn’t have enough resources or the engineering capacity to win everywhere. So, following the mantra “Go fast, fail fast”, we closed in Brazil. However, our first micro-fulfillment centre and cookroom in Barcelona opened. Plus Glovo Cares was launched!
2019
Social Impact team is built. Glopi is born.
The year started off tough, shutting down Brazil and supporting the local team the best we could. Sacha set up the Social Impact team to become an impact-driven and socially responsible company. At the end of the year, we achieved a break-even operational margin, meaning the company wasn’t losing money on a per order day basis anymore. And we had acquired a new mascot, Glopi!
2020
Market consolidation. Global pandemic. Massive growth.
By now, we were already in 19 countries. Due to the pandemic, teams had a tough time, but our social impact projects gained more momentum as we collaborated with lots of NGOs delivering meals. Our Groceries business grew from 2% to 12%. Although we kept expanding, a hard, emotional decision was made: to sell Glovo in Latin America. The strategy was to be leaders everywhere, and there it just wasn’t the case.
2021
Market consolidation. Global pandemic. Massive growth.
Glovo closed its biggest financial round:€ 450M. With four Tech Hubs and more than 3,000 employees. More engineers – especially female – were hired. Six new companies were acquired to keep growing and Glovo Concepts was launched! In Spain, we adapted to the Rider’s Law, while offering more social rights and benefits to couriers worldwide through The Couriers’ Pledge. Glovo officially became carbon neutral!
In our words
LOCAL CARE
Having a positive impact on local communities means understanding what matters to them. That is why our focus is on enhancing the lives of people in their cities, rather than just being another global corporation.
Our teams develop tools to address the needs and adapt to the conditions of daily life in every city we work in. Did you know that in Kenya we have a specific bubble in our app for water gallons and butane bottles?
Other ways in which we aim to have a positive impact on local communities include: hiring local talent, paying local taxes, improving road-safety, aligning couriers’ wages to local living standards and digitizing local commerce,
to name a few. To “give everyone easy access to anything in their city” is only possible when we understand and address people’s needs in ways that are meaningful to them where they live.
ON-DEMAND PLATFORM ECONOMY
The choice of where, how and when to work is a unique aspect of our industry. However, it should not jeopardize anyone’s social rights.
We take pride in being the first to advocate for this through The Couriers Pledge, upgrading social rights in the on-demand platform economy. As a responsible, tech-first company, Glovo is proactive both through dialogue and action: adapting our business where needed, engaging with public representatives and speaking to anyone who wants to sit at the table and drive that change.
We are committed to protecting and guaranteeing fair standards for anyone regardless of employment or work status.
FUTURE OF WORK
The pandemic forced us to quickly adapt to working remotely. At Glovo, we believe that our culture is best fostered when we are together in the same room.
When WFH (Working From Home) became the norm, a blurry line between work and personal life challenged people’s well-being and teams’ productivity. At Glovo we believe in frequent personal interaction in the office, combined with online flexibility.
We believe that a strong culture is built on personal relationships; it allows our teams to work faster and more creatively, while also having the chance to connect on a personal level. Working face-to-face creates a sense of community that is the foundation of our Life at Glovo culture.
SOCIAL IMPACT
Balancing profitability with social purpose is not easy. But caring about our impact is in Glovo’s DNA. We firmly believe “caring” is the only way for today’s companies to leave a positive footprint.
The Glovo platform has a positive impact. Our technology is a facilitator that empowers our communities in cities. However, we can always do more. Today we are already carbon neutral. By 2030, we will reduce our carbon footprint by 42,12%. We are at the beginning of the journey to support our partners with their move to more sustainable packaging and environmental best practices.
We also leverage our technology to support local NGOs in reducing hunger and food waste in their communities through Glovo Access. Our platform should not only be an easy and flexible way for couriers to access income, but also a trampoline for them to access new opportunities once they have come to the end of their journey with Glovo. We are aware there is still a long way to go: not only within Glovo itself but within the ecosystem and communities that we have a direct impact on.
ALGORITHMS
Algorithms have a direct effect on people’s lives and their income. While they are designed to optimize processes and inform business decisions, we believe that their impact on people makes it important to be transparent about them.
Can you imagine the importance of automating and optimizing manual processes in a sector where time and efficiency are paramount? Our algorithms are essential to deliver faster orders, assign orders to couriers, ensure shops and restaurants get more orders, and shorten distances to reduce carbon emissions, among many other things. While it’s easy to understand why algorithms are critical for business success, the reality today is that most companies opt not to disclose these details.
At Glovo we are choosing to move towards being more transparent. We take the responsibility of gathering and leveraging individuals’ data very seriously and aspire to be transparent about what we are doing.
DIGITAL GROWTH
If local shops and restaurants are to succeed long-term, they must take a big leap to join the digital economy. Glovo is here to support them on their journey. We want to create a healthy marketplace in which growth is a shared goal and a common opportunity for all.
Did you know that nearly half of the businesses on Glovo didn’t sell anything online before using our platform? Glovo is closing the gap between the online and offline worlds with a low barrier entry platform; a trampoline for easy market access and increased earning opportunities. When local shops and restaurants learn to adapt to the online world, not only do they benefit, but it also has a positive social and economic impact in their communities.
That is why we are supporting them with digital capabilities and business know-how that helps them be autonomous and competitive at the same time.
DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING
Barcelona-born and globally-grown, we embrace the challenges that come with our commitment to building a workplace that welcomes and celebrates everyone.
At the heart of what we think is an amazing culture, there are people from diverse backgrounds: they enrich our teams with their unique ways of seeing the world. As a result of having more than 80 nationalities and a multitude of perspectives in-house, we are able to be more creative in designing products, services, solutions and, ultimately, in how we work together.
When we say we care about diversity, we mean it. We have started by proactively moving the needle with having more women in tech and leadership roles, funding a wide variety of Employee Resource Groups and conducting regular surveys to continuously identify ways to improve. We are committed to social equality, and together we are creating a place where everyone will love working.
