Sri Lanka’s homegrown PickMe app helps with job creation amid economic crisis, becoming a key transport and economic platform nationwide.
At the offset of COVID-19, Sri Lanka underwent one of the worst economic and social challenges. In the midst of the changes, a locally-grown startup took it upon itself to cater for no less than a 100,000 Sri Lankans. The startup is PickMe, a ride-hailing and delivery platform that has since provided a continuous source of income and mobility for tens of thousands of Sri Lankan citizens, making it a prime example for TechJuice to study and promote how a Pakistani startup should be.
Launched back in 2015 by local entrepreneur Zulfer Jiffry with backing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), PickMe has ballooned into a full-blown “super-app” for mobility, food, parcels, and logistics.
The core reason PickMe has not only gained local but South Asian fame is that it thrived not just the economic woes post-pandemic, but political upheavals and uncertainty which comes along with fuel shortages. As of writing this article, PickMe is serving millions across urban hubs and remote districts in the island country. The ride hail company only recently signed a fresh partnership alongside LOLC Holdings and Browns EV to roll out affordable electric vehicles for drivers.
Selected for the CFA Institute’s Research Challenge this year, PickMe’s success tale rests on its leeway: flexible hours for drivers netting up to 5,000 rupees ($16) a day, emergency deliveries during crises, and tourism boosts for rebounding visitors wary of sketchy tuk-tuks. It’s the kind of local tech triumph that keeps the economy moving when everything else stalls.
