SINGAPORE – 4 April 2022 – foodpanda today released its first Social Impact Report, titled pandapurpose, highlighting initiatives the company has taken to contribute to socio-economic and environmental sustainability challenges in Asia. As the largest food and grocery platform in Asia (outside China), foodpanda dedicated over US$35 million to support communities, help Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) digitalise, train and upskill delivery riders across the region during the continued pandemic in 2021.
The pandapurpose 2021 report showcases how foodpanda uplifted riders, merchants and customers thrive through technology across its 12 operating markets – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. One key highlight in the report was the introduction of new digital tools that helped MSMEs expand revenue streams, while training and upskilling for riders, and programmes. Several local programs in Pakistan and Bangladesh successfully increased the percentage of economic participation from women entrepreneurs through the Home Chef program, while overall women ridership also increased compared to previous years. A new area of social impact focus in 2021 was the introduction of more sustainability initiatives across the region in 2021.
“Since foodpanda was founded in 2012, we have been driven by our value to ‘get 1% better every day’, rolling out technical features that make millions of lives better. Technology has been an especially powerful tool to help sustain livelihoods, preserve business legacies, tackle environmental challenges, and build an inclusive platform for our community of merchants, riders, and customers to thrive,” said Jakob Sebastian Angele, Chief Executive Officer, foodpanda.
The inaugural Social Impact Report features three key pillars which define foodpanda’s social impact vision in Asia: People, Progress and Planet.
People: Championing community growth
foodpanda believes that building a thriving society involves creating a conducive ecosystem for local communities to grow. In 2021, foodpanda dedicated US$29 million to support MSMEs across the region, like wet market vendors in Thailand and Taiwan, local mom-and-pop shops in Malaysia and Philippines and hawkers in Singapore. This comprises new digital tools to help merchants expand revenue streams and connect with new customers online, as well as fee waivers and other relief initiatives.
While many workers were displaced by the pandemic, the foodpanda platform provided a crucial lifeline that created earning opportunities for more than 370,000 new riders in 2021. An additional US$6 million was invested in providing riders’ welfare and benefits, such as safety training, insurance and financial support for the purchase of bicycles or motorbikes. foodpanda also spent more than half a million US dollars to support local governments and communities in the fight against COVID-19, with the distribution of food, essentials and medical supplies to healthcare workers and people in need. The platform also spearheaded a vaccination awareness program to amplify local vaccination information in partnership with health ministries.
Progress: Driving digital empowerment and inclusion
foodpanda is a strong advocate of building an inclusive platform. In 2021, foodpanda raised the level of economic participation from women across Asia, tripling the number of female riders in its fleet and financially empowering women MSME entrepreneurs on the platform through its Home Chef programme.
An additional US$91,000 was invested to upskill riders in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, in language, personal growth and marketing programmes for future career readiness. In Singapore, foodpanda dedicated 19,500 hours mentoring mid-career professionals as they transition to data and software engineers through the GoSchool and #GetReadySG programmes. foodpanda also invested US$70,000 on mental wellness, including providing subscriptions to mental wellness apps for employees and riders.
Planet: Building a new generation of eco-heroes
With an expansive reach across 12 markets in Asia, foodpanda launched tech-enabled initiatives to help merchants, riders and customers adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. To tackle environmental sustainability challenges in the food delivery industry, foodpanda worked with local partners to improve food sustainability and reduce plastic waste for a low-carbon future. In 2021, foodpanda saved over 900 million pieces of single-use plastic cutlery through its cutlery opt-out feature, while more than 25,000 sustainable products (such as plant-based food) were made available on pandamart and foodpanda shops. Hong Kong and Taiwan became foodpanda’s first markets to certify more than 70 green merchants for their sustainability practices. That program will continue to expand in 2022.
In 2021, foodpanda also became the world’s first food delivery platform to offer cultured-meat dishes to its Singapore customers in a partnership with GOOD Meat. To lower the carbon footprint of deliveries, foodpanda encourages the use of greener transportation options – more than 20 percent of its fleet across Asia deliver on foot, bicycles or e-bikes.
Looking ahead into 2022 and the next decade
Marking its tenth anniversary, this Social Impact Report reiterates foodpanda’s commitment to growing alongside its ecosystem of riders, merchants and customers across 12 markets in Asia. foodpanda will look to expand its social impact initiatives in 2022 and the years to come by positively empowering local communities to live better lives, powered by technology.
About foodpanda
foodpanda is a leading delivery platform in Asia dedicated to bringing consumers a wide range of food, groceries and more, quickly and conveniently. Powered by technology and operational excellence, foodpanda is spearheading the growth of quick-commerce (q-commerce) across the region with its network of retail partners, as well as pandamart cloud stores to provide more on-demand options beyond the millions of food delivery options. foodpanda operates in more than 300 cities across 11 markets in Asia – Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. foodpanda is a subsidiary of Delivery Hero, a global leader of the food delivery industry.
