Published on 7/5/2024

beU Delivery: Food Delivery Application

Muso Mwango

beU Delivery is a Y-Combinator backed on-demand food delivery service in Africa, offering a wide selection of local restaurant food with door-to-door delivery. It quickly became the #1 food delivery service in Ethiopia, boasting competitive rates and faster delivery.

Summary: Redefining Food Delivery in East Africa

beU Delivery's app has garnered the most downloads in its sector within Ethiopia, propelling the company to become one of the fastest-growing and largest food delivery companies in the country. Key achievements include capturing an impressive 56% market share, securing top positions in IOS & Android App stores downloads, and building an architecture capable of handling Ethiopia's complexities, with millions of deliveries completed.

Creating Groundbreaking Solutions for an Untapped Industry

beU's efficiency derives from robust technology on both drivers' and customers' applications, resulting in enhanced service for customers. Its infrastructure was purpose-built to ensure efficiency and accessibility nationwide, utilizing Flutter to scale effectively and efficiently meet demand.

Our developers integrated numerous features into beU's app to distinguish it in the market and compete effectively with rivals. Through pioneering optimizations, such as integrated payment, efficient routing algorithms, and a mobile wallet system, beU's application surpasses its competitors in Ethiopia and Africa. This robust infrastructure has empowered beU to extend its reach beyond Addis Ababa and Ethiopia into other markets.

beU's Challenge

Before beU, the Ethiopian food delivery market was fragmented, with food delivery considered a luxury due to high costs. Moreover, centralized information about restaurants offering delivery services was lacking. This fragmentation led to issues where restaurants with their delivery drivers struggled to reach customers. Another option in the fragmented market was hiring private couriers, which doubled delivery time and costs while presenting trust and communication challenges.

Our solution for beU features a customer app with map tracking, vendor listings, digital payment methods, a mobile wallet, and a referral system. The driver app includes zone delivery, GPS navigation, and a scoring system for driver rewards.

The Benefits of Working with Fabrika

Our client experienced several benefits from collaborating with Fabrika, including:

• Access to a dedicated team of developers who spearheaded the build, launch, and ongoing support of their platform.

• Transparent and fixed monthly fees throughout the development process, providing our client with a cost-effective approach to building an MVP.

• A fully managed service encompassing scoping, sprint planning, and quality testing, all executed without the need for technical direction from the client.

• Streamlined and hassle-free feedback process, where Fabrika implemented all requested changes promptly and provided assistance in strategic tech decisions for long-term success.

• Effortless transfer of code repository ownership, facilitated by Fabrika, ensuring smooth transition and continuity of development efforts as we off-boarded.

The Development Process

Communication is fundamental to our success, with Fabrika assigning a customer-facing project manager to each project. Regular updates and development calls keep founders informed. Tools like Slack, Asana, and Trello track progress and project status.

Development at Fabrika follows an agile pod model, enabling rapid and cost-effective delivery. A dedicated pod, comprising core members, was formed for this client, focusing on UX/UI, backend, and payments.

Upon project completion, a comprehensive product walkthrough and demo were provided, along with detailed documentation on GitBook.io. Post-launch, Fabrika provided ongoing technical support and resource scaling as needed.

Tech Stack

How we built scalable mobile apps for beU Delivery:

• PHP: Used for backend development due to its versatility and extensive framework support, allowing for efficient handling of server-side logic and database interactions.

• Aurora: Chosen as a cloud-based relational database service for its scalability, reliability, and performance, enabling seamless data management and storage for the application.

• Node.js: Employed for server-side development. WIth its non-blocking I/O model, making it ideal for handling concurrent requests and real-time communication.

• Vue.js and React: Utilized for front-end development to create dynamic and interactive user interfaces. Leveraged for their component-based architecture and ease of use in building single-page applications.

• Redis: Implemented as an in-memory data store and caching mechanism to improve application performance by storing frequently accessed data in memory, reducing database load times.

• Flutter: Selected for building the mobile app due to its cross-platform compatibility, enabling the development of both Android and iOS applications from a single codebase.

The Fabrika Difference

Creating an MVP is no small feat. It demands effective communication, meticulous planning, seamless execution, and a robust change management process to ensure successful outcomes. At Fabrika, we pride ourselves on our ability to understand our clients' needs and communicate effectively throughout the development process.

With Fabrika's agile pod design, clients benefit from a dedicated team of developers capable of delivering multiple releases per month (depending on the scope of the project). This pod team structure enables efficient task completion and ensures continuity throughout the development lifecycle, unlike traditional development agencies. Additionally, our agile pod model allows us to bring in specialized team members (extended pod members) for tasks requiring additional expertise or support.

The outcome of our methodology is rapid implementation, rigorous testing for bugs, and comprehensive support during launch and scaling. Our keno game client, for example, has successfully hosted thousands of games, received and transacted millions in transactions. This success underscores the strength of our system architecture and Fabrika's commitment to implementing failsafes that facilitate unhindered growth.

The Next Step for you!

If the success of our client’s Keno game has sparked your entrepreneurial spirit, that's fantastic! Let's schedule a quick 15-30 minute exploratory call to discuss your idea. We're eager to hear about your vision and ready to assist in brainstorming ideas, whether they relate to marketing, product development, or anything in between. And rest assured, all our calls are commitment-free, so you can feel at ease during our discussion. We can't wait to hear from you!