“We want to use our platform to support Sri Lanka”: Uber Eats SL Head

To support the country during its worst economic crisis, Uber Eats has partnered with the Robin Hood Army to encourage donations from people in Colombo to vulnerable communities. Last month, the company also announced a donation of USD 200,000 to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society to be used to provide ration kits and critical medication to those who need it most. Uber Sri Lanka’s General Manager, Bhavna Dadlani Jayawardana, spoke to Daily Mirror exclusively about commitment to Sri Lanka and the company’s social impact efforts.

We’ve had a tough few months with Sri Lanka’s worst financial crisis. Has the situation improved? What is the current business environment like?

We remain committed to Sri Lanka and will continue doing our bit to help the country emerge stronger from the crisis. Of course, the crisis impacted all - initial movement was difficult. But it was humbling to see a resilient team work round the clock through it all. As a company, we displayed what I call “agility in adversity” - when fuel crisis affected deliveries, we introduced cycle deliveries and the response has been overwhelming. This gave an opportunity to delivery partners, including part-time working professionals, to earn some income during this challenging time. Now, the situation is getting better and I hope things will improve further over the coming weeks.

Tell us about your recent efforts to support the larger community during this crisis

At Uber Eats, we #BuildwithHeart. Since the early days of the crisis, we’ve continually made efforts to help vulnerable communities.

Uber Eats - the app - is an integral part of people’s lives today. We want to use the power of our platform to support Sri Lanka.  We’ve launched a new initiative -  ‘Delivering Love’ - in partnership with the Sri Lanka chapter of the Robin Hood Army. This gives each and every Sri Lankan the opportunity to help those who need it through a few clicks on their favorite food and grocery delivery app. We, at Uber Eats, will match the donations made and RHA volunteers, called ‘Robins’ will help distribute the donated food items to affected families.

Also, we have expanded our existing partnership with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society to help families most impacted by the economic crisis. Recently, we donated USD 200,000 to the NGO to distribute food items and life-saving medication. The food packs are likely to benefit over 10,000 individuals while the medication will reach 15 rural hospitals serving over 30,000 individuals.

This is the latest in our efforts to support the communities we serve. Some other steps include waiving off commission on essential food items such as milk, milk powder, and rice. This helped merchant partners procure more volumes and allow customers to get essential food and grocery items delivered to the comfort of their homes at a time when it was getting increasingly difficult.

What is the duration of the RHA partnership? What is accepted as donations?

Our partnership with the Robin Hood Army is our latest attempt to support the country in its hour of need. We began earlier this month and the response has been promising. We’re using RHA’s volunteer network and the power of Uber Eats’ platform to transport customers’ donations to affected individuals. 

Donations can include standardized packs of dry rations consisting of rice, dhal, sugar, canned food, milk powder, dried sprats and canned fish, etc. These will be priced from Rs. 1,000 upwards and would be available from select stores on the Uber Eats app in Colombo. Customers can easily identify these stores on the app - these will have a green heart and the #DeliveringLove logo next to them.

How do you ensure that the donated food item reaches the beneficiary?

We have planned the end-to-end process through which donations can be received and sent to the intended beneficiaries. Uber Eats enables donations through its platform and adds to it by contributing food ration kits of the same magnitude. Customers can choose from merchants with a ‘green heart’ on the app and procure food packs. They then send this donation to a RHA collection point via a Uber Eats delivery partner. It is then distributed to the most affected families through Robins, RHA volunteers. RHA, with its body of work, has been the right partner to help identify such vulnerable communities.

Please walk us through the process of making a donation.

We’ve tried to make this process as intuitive and simple as possible. We’ve also been mindful that the process should not be very different from the familiar experience of customers ordering a meal for themselves. 

Making donations is easy as 1-2-3:

Step One – On the Uber Eats app, change your delivery address to a RHA collection point and choose a merchant with a ‘green heart’ that says #DeliveringLove on their cover image

Step Two - From the menu, scroll to the #DeliveringLove category and select a donation pack

Step Three – Proceed to check-out, pay for your donation, and track your order till it reaches the RHA collection point

There are three collection points across Colombo in Battaramulla, Boralesgamuwa, and Colombo 9. Customers can easily choose the one nearest to them by typing ‘Robin Hood Army Collection Point’ in the destination.

Can you share a number about your donation to RHA? Or, how many people have benefited from it?

Our objective with the RHA partnership is to be able to channelize the popularity of Uber Eats as a platform to give everyone an opportunity to support those who need it the most. It is still early days but the response has been promising. I would encourage every Sri Lankan to think about supporting fellow countrymen and donate generously.

How do you see the next 12 months shaping up for Uber Eats?

As a business leader, my focus is on supporting my customers, merchant partners, and delivery partners. I also want us to continue supporting the larger community. I feel that the situation will improve further - I believe there is a lot of potential in our beautiful country. For us as a business, newer segments such as grocery delivery will grow bigger and overall deliveries should increase too. 

Lastly, what is your message to Uber Eats customers in Sri Lanka? 

As a proud Sri Lankan - my heart goes out to the affected families. I hope and pray that our beautiful country comes out of this crisis soon.

As Uber Eats, we’re trying to do our bit to support the communities we serve. I would encourage all Sri Lankans to donate generously and collectively help the country. Donating is just a few clicks but can make a huge difference in someone’s life.