Uber Eats celebrates five-year anniversary with delivery partners

Uber Eats completed five years of operations in Sri Lanka late last year and celebrated the milestone with driver partners and their families. Varun Wijewardene, General Manager, Uber Eats Sri Lanka, termed the journey ‘nothing short of incredible’ and expressed excitement for the future. 
After commencing operations in Sri Lanka in 2018, Uber Eats has continually expanded to different parts of the country with Galle being the latest addition. With a growing network of delivery and merchant partners, Uber Eats has redefined the way Sri Lanka orders food and groceries. Wijewardene stressed on the ‘earning and entrepreneurship opportunities’ that Uber Eats has provided to hundreds of thousands Sri Lanka over the course of the last few years. Uber Eats provides delivery partners a flexible way to earn their livelihood and has become a primary income source for many. Similarly, several small businesses that started from a home kitchen have today expanded to various locations with support, exposure and reach provided by the Uber Eats platform. 

Powered by its strong network, Uber Eats completed 32 million deliveries in Sri Lanka last year. Recognizing the pivotal role played by its partners, Uber Eats celebrated its five-year journey with delivery and merchant partners. To support delivery partners and their families, Uber Eats announced the third edition of the ‘Uber Delivery Scholar’ program that supports children of delivery partners by providing school scholarships and school supplies to them. Children of 300 couriers were awarded free scholarships and learning tools.
Uber Eats also celebrated its growing network of merchant partners and their contribution in the company’s journey in Sri Lanka. 50 merchant partners were awarded the gift of education through scholarship grants to pursue certificate courses in areas that will support their growth. The focus areas for the diploma courses include Marketing, Financial and Administrative planning, Use of social media, Business development and Innovation, Governance and compliance, among others. 

Uber Eats has continued to serve the Sri Lankan community during challenging times over the last five years. With the tragic Easter attacks in its first year, to COVID impact including subsequent lockdowns, and the recent economic crisis - Uber Eats has rolled out a slew of initiatives to support customers, couriers, merchant partners, and the larger community. Last year, Uber partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka to build awareness through its network of couriers, merchant partners, and customer base to speak up and advocate against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).