After seven years of activities, iFood announced that it will leave Colombia next month. With the first leftist president in power since August, the country is experiencing a series of demonstrations against the government’s measures. And, in the midst of an unprecedented economic and social context, the Brazilian platform decided to leave the land of competitor Rappi.
“This is a strategic decision that has as a backdrop the current moment of the capital market”, informed the company.
The platform belongs to Movile, a Brazilian multinational of applications and services. In 2018, it came to operate in more than 100 Colombian cities, and, in 2020, it merged with a local company to act more strongly. in the country, increasing the restaurant base by 44%.
“iFood will continue to invest in Brazil, where it was born and is a leader, in order to grow and offer the best services and opportunities for its consumers and partners, continuing its journey of success and excellence”, declared the company.
The local newspaper Semana analyzes the withdrawal of important brands in the country and highlights the surprise about the departure of the delivery platform at a time of growth of the delivery culture and a little less than a year after the company became profitable in Colombian territory.
According to Euromonitor data, the Colombia is one of the Latin American countries where this type of food delivery service is most used. In the article, the journal acknowledges, however, that the social and political context is unfavorable even for companies in this sector.
“(iFood) joins the list of companies that announced their withdrawal from Colombia this year, joining names like Dr. Martens, who at the beginning of the month announced his departure after more than ten years of activity. factors that businessmen are analyzing to analyze their projections”, he observes.
The country faces the effects of global inflation and a historical devaluation of the local currency in relation to the dollar. Unemployment reached 10, 6% of the economically active population.
The worsening economic situation in Colombia is also pointed out as a reason for popular uprisings, which started little less than a month after the ex-guerrilla sworn in as president.
The main issue denounced in the demonstrations has been a proposal for tax reform, which, according to Petro, has the objective of increasing tax revenue. government to compensate for an alleged breach in finances inherited from his predecessor Iván Duque and generate “social justice” by taxing high-income Colombians more.
