Swiggy establishes a COVID-19 relief fund for its delivery partners and their families

Pune, March 31, 2020: Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Swiggy’s teams across cities have been working relentlessly to ensure citizens are able to stay indoors while having access to essential services like food during this 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.

During this period, Swiggy’s delivery partners have indeed lived up to their moniker of Hunger Saviors by continuing to deliver food to those in need and supporting this essential service. To support its delivery partners who are the backbone of all its operations, Swiggy has set up a relief fund called ‘Swiggy Hunger Savior Covid Relief Fund’ which will be used towards the safety and welfare of delivery partners and their families.

The corpus for the fund will be created by Swiggy with primary contributions from the founders, senior leaders, employees and investors, as well as donations from customers and well-wishers. As a start, Sriharsha Majety, CEO at Swiggy, has committed 50% of his annual salary towards this fund. Swiggy aims to raise Rs 10Cr for this fund and has already raised over 4Cr through initial contributions from Swiggy, founders and employees. Swiggy has also committed all its revenues from 22nd March, Janata Curfew towards this purpose.

Through the fund, delivery partners are now covered with Income-Protection Insurance where up to 14 days of income is insured if tested positive with COVID-19. The fund will also be used to provide sustenance support through food and grocery care packages to the partners and their families who are facing hardships. Additionally, parents and family members of the Delivery Partner currently not covered by existing medical insurance will also be covered by the fund towards medical/hospitalization expenses related to COVID-19. This initiative is one amongst many that Swiggy has announced to support delivery partners on its platform.

“Our industry is built on the efforts of our delivery partners. It is in times like these, that we come together to appreciate and support those who are putting their lives at risk to serve others. To assist our delivery heroes during these testing times, we have initiated this special fund which will be supported by Swiggy and our investors. I am overwhelmed by this collective initiative to support one another while also doing what we do best, which is serving customers”, says Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy

Since the start of the outbreak in India, Swiggy has been constantly working closely with its delivery partners to ensure their safety by providing access to hygiene equipment, offering free on-call medical consultation and training on best practices. Along with a new tipping feature that allows customers to offer a tip to the delivery partner, Swiggy has also introduced a ‘No-Contact’ delivery option to help both customers and delivery partners stay safe.