Swiggy’s Rohit Kapoor on gig economy and how the company takes care of delivery partners

Swiggy is among the largest and fastest employment generators in the country, said Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplaces at the company, in a conversation with YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma.

Kapoor, who also runs the delivery partner vertical across the platform, added, “[Delivery partners] are the only face you see from Swiggy apart from the app. I request all to tip more.”

He mentioned that in India, the average rate of tipping is 3%. 

“The tip passes 100% [to the rider] and we take zero out of it. Nothing in our algorithm or pricing is ever dependent on how much he is making,” he said at TechSparks Bengaluru 2024, encouraging everyone to tip the delivery partners more.

He also shared that the company provides insurance to every delivery partner. “There is no gamification of insurance. There are additional levels of insurance which depend on engagement. Many people don't work even for a week. It is not a natural employment type," Kapoor explained.

He added that the longer the delivery partners work, the more additional benefits they get. The company dispersed Rs 32 crore worth of insurance benefits last year, he revealed.

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Many students in Tier II and III cities fund their college fees through gig work, he revealed.

“You land in Bombay [Mumbai], you have a driving licence, an Aadhar card, and you can start earning within five hours. You don’t have to worry about where your next meal will come from,” the CEO said.

He also talked about second-shift workers who are struggling to earn extra. “We are not dealing with one person called gig worker. We recruit 60,000 people a week,” he noted, adding that the average tenure of a delivery partner on the platform is 3.5 months.

Kapoor also emphasised that the company's core mission goes beyond profitability.

“More than profitability we are building a company on the back of creating success for everyone they engage with and that is very empowering,” Kapoor remarked.

Foodtech startup Swiggy yesterday filed its IPO papers for a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore along with an offer-for-sale of 18.52 crore shares from selling stockholders, according to its draft red herring prospectus.