For Delivery Workers in Latin America, Affordable E-Bikes Are a Superpower

One day last November, Luis Maldonado celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake and people he considered his family around the table. A pretty normal scene, except for the setting: the office of Guajira, the start-up that gave Maldonado a loan for an e-bike that has fueled his work as a delivery worker. Maldonado is one of the three million Venezuelans who have settled in neighboring Colombia as the crisis in their country deepens. Venezuela faces political unrest and an acute economic crisis, and basic services like water and electricity are unreliable. Before moving to Bogotá six years ago, Maldonado worked as a business manager in a government role. Once he settled in Colombia, he joined the ranks of Rappi, the country’s biggest delivery platform: It has 70,000 active drivers, around 40 percent of whom are migrants. Riding an e-bike instead of a regular bike has multiple benefits for delivery drivers (and the planet): They can ride faster, which translates into more orders, which ... Read full article.