Swiggy launches Project Next for delivery partners

Business: Online food ordering and delivery company Swiggy on Tuesday announced the launch of an initiative that aims to provide career growth opportunities to its delivery partners by skilling them and transforming them from blue-collar to white-collar workers. Project Next is part of Swiggy’s larger Swiggy Skills initiative, announced earlier this month in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It provides skills, training, internships and employment opportunities across its value chain. Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Swiggy Food Marketplace, said, “Swiggy works with nearly 400,000 delivery partners across India. This unique program helps transform delivery partners from workers to full-time employees.

With Project Next, qualified delivery partners will be able to connect and operate from Swiggy’s growing network of restaurants, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, and provide high-quality support to restaurants on the platform.

In the last five weeks, Project Next has transformed 100 Swiggy delivery partners into sales managers and on-boarded nearly 360 restaurants. In the coming months, Swiggy plans to move hundreds of delivery partners to over 150 emerging markets, including Vadodara, Amritsar, Nashik, Agra and Dharwad. As part of this initiative, Swiggy will help develop online skills and expand the workforce of nearly 240,000 delivery partners and their 200,000 restaurant partners. This will create employment opportunities for 3,000 people in various fields of restaurant and retail management.