Amazon opens action in favela and talks about deliveries on Sundays

The world’s largest e-commerce company, Amazon opened its delivery operation in Brazil’s favelas in Paraisópolis.

In partnership with Favela Llog, startup of Holding de Favelas together with Luft Logistics, Amazon says it will initiate a disruptive action in São Paulo, which will differentiate itself by making deliveries even on Sundays and holidays.

“The idea is for the market to be contaminated with this operation, for it to be an example, as it benefits buyers and has a great social impact on the community, as 100% of the delivery people live on site”, says Rafael Caldas, 40, leader of Amazon Logistics in Brazil.

According to him, the arrival of Amazon in the favelas is the result of the maturation of e-commerce in the country that took place during the pandemic. “In Paraisópolis, we will learn to the maximum, overcome the problems of addressing, which are the greatest difficulty in communities.”

One of the highlights is that part of the team originates from the Redenção project, from Cufa (Central Única das Favelas), which guarantees employment for those leaving the prison system in the country.

One example is Francildo Phênnes Alves de Souza, 35, coordinator of the Favela Llog HQ in Paraisópolis.

After being arrested in 2008 for armed robbery, Phênnes says he now has the job he always wanted.

“This opportunity, to work close to home, to have a decent salary and to be able to be close to the family, is everything that young people from the favela, like I was, want. It’s surreal”, says he, who has already worked as a school van and used the vehicle to deliver food in the pandemic.

In addition to resignifying his presence in the favela and in front of his children, he says that the arrival of Amazon in Paraisópolis is a milestone in the favela. “This multinational believes in us and in the potential of the favela. And I say to everyone: ‘Believe: there is always a chance to start over,'” he says.

Who is also in the Favela Llog operation is Thales Athayde, 26, son of Celso Athayde, chosen Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 by the Schwab Foundation and CEO of Favela Holding. “Here in Paraisópolis we must deliver up to 2,000 packages a day. Cufa has been here in Paraisópolis for 15 years, and Favela Vai Voando [empresa de turismo da holding]there are 10. We do not act in combination with crime, and the objective is to promote local entrepreneurship and income generation”, says Thales.

According to him, leaving Rio, where the two brothers live, and coming to São Paulo was to challenge himself to make initiatives like Favela Llog work, in a joint venture whose profit is shared with Luft Logistics.

Founded in 2015, Favela Llog accounted for 12% of the holding, which should now grow after the partnership with Amazon. The company’s logistics expertise was consolidated by making donations during the pandemic and by already being present in 100 favelas and 10 neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, where it already makes deliveries from Natura and P&G.

Now the plan that begins with Paraisópolis, Heliópolis and Capão Redondo, in São Paulo, is expected to be in 300 favelas by the end of the year.

According to Celso Athayde, 16 other companies are in talks to be part of the operation. “Favela Llog was not very expressive, because it is a startup that depended on a solid expansion plan. But now it should represent another reality and we will have this position soon, as soon as the 16 companies join the project.”

And, says Celso, there is no pressure for rapid expansion. “We are committed to a management that is a reference for the opening of a new solid market that we have started and we want to encourage.”

If this new model is consolidated in Paraisópolis, by the end of the year it should spread throughout Brazil in actions by Favela Brasil Xpress, led by Gilson Rodrigues and Givanildo Pereira, and with naPorta, led by Edu Lyra, from Gerando Falcões, which intends to be in 24 communities.

These are the favelas, which are home to 17 million people with a purchasing power of R$ 120 billion per year, once and for all on the ecommerce map in Brazil.