Meet Rappi, the Leading Colombian Delivery App

Over the past decade, Colombia has proven to be one of the most fertile grounds for startups in Latin America, with great potential for innovation and entrepreneurship. At the forefront of this vibrant startup environment is Rappi, a delivery app that has positively impacted the delivery and even fintech sectors across the region. Since its inception in 2015, the Colombian delivery app has successfully conquered the national delivery market and achieved international expansion across Latin American countries, including Argentina and Brazil. Since Rappi has become Colombia’s first unicorn, the man behind this groundbreaking venture, Simon Borrero, was rightfully recognized as the Businessman of the Year by former Colombian President Ivan Duque in 2019.

Colombia’s leading delivery app

Rappi has emerged as one of the most iconic Colombian companies in recent years, achieving the status of the country’s first unicorn in August 2018 with a valuation exceeding 1 billion dollars. Today, Rappi stands as a regional giant, boasting a market value of over US$5.2 billion. The Colombian delivery app employs 6,000 people across Latin America, collaborates with 350,000 delivery workers, and is partnered with 600,000 businesses. Since its launch in 2015, Rappi has attracted around US$2.2 billion in investment, making it by far the leading Colombian startup. In contrast, Habi, a proptech startup ranked as the second capital-generating startup in Colombia, has raised only US$315 million.

Rappi’s story

Rappi represents the culmination of the entrepreneurial journey of its founder, Simon Borrero. Born in 1983 in Cali, Borrero studied economics at the prestigious Universidad de los Andes. Quickly drawn to entrepreneurship, he embarked on several projects without success until he founded Imaginamos in 2007, a startup offering software and web page design. This initial software experience led to the creation, alongside Sebastian Mejia, of Grability in May 2013, a software system aimed at supermarkets. Stemming from this system, Rappi was founded in August 2015, with the aim of improving delivery times in the country.

The Colombian delivery app was an immediate success, with more than 200,000 orders within 5 months of its launch. By 2016, Rappi had gone international, starting operations in Mexico and Brazil, and is now active in 9 Latin American countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

An innovative and diversified startup

Amid its rapid expansion, Rappi has diversified into the fintech sector with the introduction of its digital bank, RappiBank, a digital provider of financial services, RappiPay, and a credit card usable worldwide, RappiCard. Notably, RappiCard, emerged from a collaboration with Visa Inc. and has since garnered over 230,000 clients in Colombia, highlighting Rappi’s successful diversification from delivery services to financial solutions. Indeed, this initiative is part of the company’s broader strategy to create a comprehensive web of services across Colombia and Latin America.