When poverty, inflation and the prices of basic needs products increase day by day, with greater incidence in vulnerable neighborhoods, the need arises to look for new alternatives to lower the cost of living.
In Argentina, according to the latest data published by INDEC, 37.3% of people live below the poverty line and it is estimated that every day 2,800 more Argentines join this undesirable group. Likewise, the Consumer Price Index, which had a variation of 7.4% in July, has already accumulated an increase of 46.2% in the first seven months of the year. The increase in «food and non-alcoholic beverages» (6.0%), the items that have the greatest impact on the poorest, was the highest in all regions.
In addition, something that often happens is that the products of the basic food basket are more expensive in low-income neighborhoods. This is due to multiple reasons, among them, the large number of intermediaries, lack of direct distribution channels due to logistical difficulties and high informality due to the difficulty of accessing credit.
«Nowadays it is difficult to know what the true price of things is. It changes depending on the day and the supermarket» says Zunilda, who is 48 years old, lives in Barrio Carlos Mugica and has a small store where she resells products she buys from wholesalers and supermarkets. She is one of the many people looking for different options that will allow both her family and her business to survive this situation.
Community purchasing model from Nilus
A new alternative is the community purchasing model proposed by Nilus, a tech company that seeks to lower the costs of living of low-income people.
«We called on people from vulnerable neighborhoods to join us as Community Leaders and we opened a virtual store that allows them to sell quality, low-cost, everyday consumer products to their neighbors,» Ady Beitler. Co-Founder and CEO of Nilus.
Through the development of proprietary technology, they consolidate the purchases of all the families in a community, giving them access to wholesale prices and lowering food costs per volume. With growth of more than 50% in the first half of 2022, it has already reached 300,000 people. In July alone, it delivered 110,000 kilos of food, generating an average savings to families of around 24%.
«Now we have an option where prices are lower, promotions are transparent and I can generate extra income» indicates Zunilda, who through her virtual store has already placed 687 orders and generated an extra income of more than $92,000.
«Today, many families have to stretch their money to afford the basic food basket. We are happy to be part of this initiative because we give the opportunity to people who thought they could not, not only to be able to afford more, but also to buy quality products. It helps,» says Yessica, from José C. Paz, who opened her online store in September 2021 and is now one of the top 10 sellers.
«While all supermarkets are raising prices, we are developing technology and eliminating intermediaries to lower costs. The more people suffer from food insecurity, the more they join to buy and sell through us, because we allow them to access food and basic products at prices significantly lower than what they pay in their neighborhood stores» adds Nicolas Manes, Co-founder of Nilus in charge of the company’s growth area.
About Nilus:
Nilus is a technology company, on a mission to alleviate food insecurity by lowering the cost of access to basic goods for low-income people through disintermediation, food rescue and community buying groups.
Created in 2018 and incubated at the Harvard Innovation Lab, today it has over 100 employees and has operations in Argentina and Mexico.
Nilus was recently selected by Norrsken as one of the 100 ideas that can change millions of lives and was recognized among the Ideas That Will Change the World by First Company magazine.
- LinkedIn: Nilus
To join the Nilus cause you can contact:
- Rosario R. Traverso
- Phone: 11.5959.7177
- Mail: rosario.traverso@nilus.co
