Ride service, delivery, and e-food service “Yango,” present in Bolivia, Peru, and Guatemala, joins the competitive cab app industry that has time as one of its biggest challenges in cities with the worst vehicle traffic in the world.
Entering a small market has been the strategy of Yango, a mobility platform owned by Russian-Dutch tech conglomerate Yandex, to gain a foothold in Latin America.
While the group is already present in Chile, Mexico, and Peru with Yango Delivery – its delivery service for businesses – Bolivia was chosen as the market for the cab app.
It launched at the end of 2022, and today it covers the main cities of Bolivia: La Paz and Santa Cruz.
“We chose a small entry market like Bolivia. Yango is an international brand, but we must build it in Latin America.”
“This implies a very important technological development. We will also be present in the larger markets.”
“A month ago, we launched a test phase in Lima, one of the largest cities in Latin America.”
“After Brazil and Mexico, Peru is one of the most populous countries, and we don’t consider it a small market.”
“Then we will go to the bigger countries like Colombia, Argentina, or Mexico, but the strategy is to build a brand and understand the local consumer.”
“We identify where there are opportunities, and in Lima, we have discovered many opportunities to improve the service, both in terms of price, safety, technology, quality, and waiting times.”
“We don’t look so much at the size of the market, but at the opportunities in each city,” says Juan Pablo Velasco, general manager of Yango in Peru and Bolivia.
Last week, Yango officially announced its entry into the Peruvian market.
According to Velasco, the potential in the capital is huge, as there are 230,000 vehicles used as cabs, and barely half of them are operated through an app.
However, in Peru, as in other regional markets, Yango will have to compete with more established mobility platforms such as Cabify, Uber, and Didi.
For Velasco, the value proposition lies in the business model.
“We don’t work with direct drivers, we work with companies, and that makes the difference because by working legally with a company, drivers have the support they can fall back on if something happens.”
“Also, our prices are the best. For example, Lima has fares for less than US$1, which is very reasonable.”
“As for safety, we have the conflict button and safety algorithms for rerouting routes. Yango offers the best of each service.”
WAITING TIME: THE BIGGEST HEADACHE
Although the cab industry is now high-tech, wait times can be a nightmare for users, especially in Latin America, where some of the world’s busiest cities are.
In this regard, Yango has quite ambitious goals.
“The ETA, the waiting time when you request the car, is a very important issue.”
“We aim to achieve a one-minute wait time in the medium term, which is already the case in other cities where Yango exists.”
“This is a very important metric because, after all, when you order a cab, you want it immediately,” Velasco emphasizes.
Yango is developing its own maps, routes, navigation, and smart order distribution to achieve this.
“We use technology and develop our maps strategically, which is a very important bet.”
“In the beginning, it is a big investment. There is much work for a city as big as Lima.”
“But we have the knowledge and experience that, in the medium term, the value of our maps is very different, and the service changes significantly in terms of efficiency, reaching the destination faster, the driver doesn’t wait so long for a ride, and the user has his car quickly.”
“We are the only company that does this,” emphasizes Juan Pablo Velasco.
Although the app has a strong presence in more than 20 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, it now targets Latin America.
“Latin America is a market with 650 million inhabitants and a more than 45% digital penetration.”
“It is a very attractive market for this type of technology. Cab service in these developing countries can improve greatly,” Velasco concludes.