Glovo Bets on ‘Vibandas’ for Growth in Kenya

Glovo is upscaling their partnerships to support small business enterprises by creating a Kibanda Bubble, where restaurant owners can sign up for free and start using the platform for orders. Glovo has now been operating in Kenya for close to four years.

In Kenyan parlance, the term Kibanda refers to smaller eateries and restaurants. They are quite popular thanks to their affordable and (sometimes) healthy, satisfying meals.

With more vibandas integrated into the Glovo App, users can order their favorite local foods from any neighbourhood in Nairobi and get it delivered for free.

Priscilla Muhiu, General Manager Kenya, Glovo stated: “As Glovo we are aiming to be a catalyst for SMEs around the country through these partnerships with Kibanda owners as we bridge the gap where affordability meets convenience.”

“Most owners have noted since joining the App, it has been good for business with sales going up and getting clients that they normally would not get if they fully depended on walk-in clients,” she noted.

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Online food delivery services have been growing in the past few years, allowing customers access to a variety of foods from their offices or homes. The  platforms used to be the domain of established fast-food outlets, local restaurants, cafes, and big hotels. But with Covid-19, some smaller restaurants have taken advantage of the online space to expand their business.

She added: “As we monitor the growth of Kibanda business, orders in the Kibanda bubble have increased by 435%, meaning we have managed to deliver x5 more local meals through our Kibanda bubble in only 3 months. We aim to sign up as many Kibandas as possible on the App.”

The most ordered meals on the Kibanda bubble include beef stew, chapati, ugali, ndengu, bean stew and matumbo, which are all local cuisines in Nairobi. Upon signing the collaboration agreement with Glovo, owners are offered an onboarding experience where they are shown how to handle the orders, how to contact partner support if they have any questions and provided with personalized insights to get the most out of the app.

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