The global food delivery giant Delivery Hero is getting into lending as a way to boost revenue. The company, which was founded in 2011 in Berlin, has reported it expects to at least break even in the second half of this year.
Delivery Hero a worldwide network of online food ordering sites, operating in 21 countries and with over 73,000 restaurant partners. The company has made multiple meal and grocery delivery acquisitions in the Middle East over the years. The comapny has been gradually consolidating most of its regional operations under the Talabat brand.
According to recent reports, Delivery Hero is also considering a few new ways to make money. One is selling ads. This would be in keeping with what we are seeing elsewhere in the eCommerce world where platforms are building large secondary revenue streams from targeted ads. Amazon has led the way here, creating a $21.5 billion ad businesses on top of its eCommerce operations. Companies like Walmart and Instacart have followed suit and are converting their online store traffic into eyeballs for advertisers.
Another new Delivery Hero revenue stream is likely to come from lending. The company is reportedly looking at allowing consumers to delay payments on purchases. For example, it’s testing an eat-now-pay-later service for food ordered in the MENA region. And it may also create a revenue stream from providing financing to its vendors.