At a Glance
Location: Chile
Impact Areas: Employment Generation
People Supported:
Migrants and Refugees, At-risk Women, Youth
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2024
Overview
Agil is a tech enterprise that brings affordable e-commerce solutions to small, micro, and family-run enterprises in the HoReCa (Hospitality, Restaurant, and Catering) industry in Chile. Agil supports businesses that are generally located in areas with low-income populations and employ individuals from excluded communities, including migrants, single mothers, and youth. To date, the tech enterprise has supported 80 small enterprises to accelerate the growth of their businesses and increase the income of their employees.
The restaurant industry has evolved in recent years, with the rise of food delivery apps such as Uber Eats and Rappi. While these apps have enabled many restaurants to thrive by boosting sales and expanding market reach, they also take a substantial commission, which significantly impacts a restaurant’s profits and, consequently, its growth. Another drawback of using conventional third-party delivery apps is that small restaurants have limited control over customer experience and little or no access to customer data and purchasing behavior.
Agil supports small and family-run restaurants to create their own web channel to manage sales and access valuable insights about their customer base, with lower commissions when customers buy directly through this site. Restaurants can leverage this data to make informed decisions for more effective customer engagement, boosting loyalty and standing out in a competitive market. Agil’s support also includes targeted automated marketing campaigns based on customers’ purchasing behavior and created using AI.
Additionally, Agil offers an app that allows small businesses to manage food orders from multiple delivery apps in a single platform. The Agil app gives restaurants greater control over customer experience and logistics, including access to food delivery drivers.
Beyond its assistance to small businesses, Agil ensures the delivery drivers it works with through its app earn a sustainable income. An estimated 300,000 delivery drivers earn income through app-based delivery platforms in Santiago de Chile, a large percentage of whom are migrants who often face greater difficulties in gaining access to decent work. Agil’s support extends to 333 delivery drivers, increasing their earnings by 15–20% compared to working with other food delivery apps and contributing to their improved livelihoods and well-being.
Results & Impact
15–20%
higher income for delivery drivers compared to other delivery apps
600
small businesses expected to receive support by 2026
3,000
food delivery drivers expected to receive support by 2026
““Agil is firmly committed to democratizing access to technology for small and medium-sized businesses. By leveraging digital tools, small businesses can save money, increase productivity, and improve the income of their workers. The result is a positive domino effect along the entire value chain.””
NESsT Investment
During its acceleration, Agil will receive one-on-one mentoring to strengthen the skills of its leadership team and position the enterprise for expansion. NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship will play an integral role in supporting Agil to scale its business and expand its impact to reach 600 small businesses and improve the livelihoods of 3,000 delivery drivers by 2026.
As part of its growth strategy, Agil aims to strengthen its organizational structure and operational team, implement a governance structure, and develop strategies to attract and raise capital from investors.
NESsT’s business assistance will include support to develop gender policies and increase the representation of women in Agil’s organizational structure and the communities it supports.