Platform Technologies Plc is launching Cache, the first self-serve food delivery application that allows users to order food directly from nearby restaurants.
Founded by Abraham Degfe and Abubakar Salahadin, the startup says its latest product is the result of the gap it saw in the current food delivery market in Ethiopia.
When orders are placed on Cache, restaurants receive them via their admin app or web platform. When placing the order, users fill in the building where they are located, even down to the office number, enabling the restaurants to use in-house resources to effect the order.
Restaurants can easily update the menu, picture, price, and description and put up discounts and special offers.
The app comes with a default 300m radius in which restaurants will deliver orders. However, the restaurants can adjust the radius, which gives them a lot of control, and they can determine the apartment, building, and radius within which they deliver their products.
When users also open the app, it shows them restaurants within their nearby radius that are willing to deliver the food to where they are located.
The founders believe that Cache will be of great use in areas where offices are located, enabling users to order from their favorite nearby restaurants without going out or using other delivery platforms.
“Other food delivery platforms are almost like middlemen. When users place an order via app or call center, the services call back and confirm the order and then communicate it to the restaurants. That is why it is at times orders are delayed, or a user might be notified that a certain food runs out after a good 15-20 minutes,” Abraham Degfe, CEO of Platform Technologies, told Shega.
Platform Technology mainly focuses on B2B services like enterprise resource planning software used to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations of organizations.
Platform Technologies also provides a digital menu for hotels and restaurants. It also prints out QR codes for the restaurants, which in turn give them to their customers. Customers can scan the QR code and place their orders from nearby.
Food delivery is a courier service in which stores, restaurants, or third-party applications deliver food to consumers on demand. These days, orders are executed through mobile apps, websites, or telephones.
Food delivery businesses come in many shapes and forms. They range from a platform that partners up with restaurants and drivers to a fully integrated model where everything is kept in-house. Deliver Addis, Tikus Delivery, beU Delivery, and Zmall are the big names of food delivery businesses operating in the capital.
Today, the global market for food delivery is valued at $122 billion. This equals 1 percent of the global food market or 4 percent of the food sold through restaurants. While many markets have already matured and identified companies to take market leadership, overall demand for food delivery continues to grow at a 3.5 percent annual rate.
“We saw a gap in the current delivery service; Cache started from a digital menu, producing more than 100 digital menus for hotels and restaurants, then we developed the web and mobile application,” said Abraham.
The startup says it’s working on adding payment gateways that enable hotels and restaurants to effortlessly receive their payments.
Over 8000 people are using the QR code produced by Platform to order from several hotels in Addis Ababa.
The startup is currently pilot testing its Cache across Bole and Sarbet with selected restaurants. It is also not charging the businesses yet but is planning to set the price after determining the value it provides to the customers on a subscription basis.
Platform intends the application to have a rating system for the users and add additional features once the application is fully rolled out in November 2022.
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