In pictures: $1.20 for delivered lunch as India fosters surge in errand apps
A growing number of startups cater to people who want to avoid the poor roads and polluted air, and can afford to do so because of the plentiful cheap labour. Almost anyone can use an app to have someone pick up groceries, drop off a letter at the post office or prepare a lunch that runs 75 rupees ($1.20) with delivery.
Tiny Owl employees stand at a reception desk at the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. The service now handles 2,000 orders each day and has caught the interest of venture funds including Sequoia Capital, an early backer of technology giants such as Apple Inc. and Oracle Corp.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
An employee demonstrates the Tiny Owl application on a smartphone for a photograph at the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. “People today want to do as much as possible with their phones,” said TinyOwl co-founder Mandad, who graduated from Mumbai’s Indian Institute of Technology in 2012. “It is a friction just to go out – there’s the heavy traffic, pollution and waiting involved for a cab.”Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
The Tiny Owl logo is displayed on the baseball cap of a food delivery employee at the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. With traffic snarls in big Indian cities an everyday occurrence, it’s common to find vehicles crawling along at less than 5 kilometers per hour on some Delhi roads, almost as slow as bullock carts, government data shows. Air quality is poor, with several cities faring worse than even Beijing.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Tiny Owl employees work on laptop computers as pair of sandals sit on the floor inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. India is becoming the land of the errand app. A growing number of startups cater to people who want to avoid the poor roads and polluted air, and can afford to do so because of the plentiful cheap labour.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
The Tiny Owl logo is displayed on a bag sitting on a desk as employees work on laptop computers inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. Tiny Owl is a smartphone application that helps hungry city-dwellers scour nearby eateries for deliveries.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Tiny Owl employees work at computers inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. The startups are carving out niches by serving certain neighborhoods or parts of cities, realizing the “hyper-local” strategy long envisioned in more developed countries including the U.S.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
A Tiny Owl food delivery employee waits for an elevator at the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. Almost anyone can use an app to have someone pick up groceries, drop off a letter at the post office or prepare a lunch that runs 75 rupees ($1.20) with delivery.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
The Tiny Owl logo is displayed on a bag at the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
A Tiny Owl employee walks past an office mini-golf game inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015. Tiny Owl is a smartphone application that helps hungry city-dwellers scour nearby eateries for deliveries.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Tiny Owl employees sit talking at the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Tiny Owl employees work at computers inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
A Tiny Owl employee works at a computer inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Tiny Owl employees work at computers inside the company's head office in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
The Tiny Owl application icon is displayed on a smartphone inside the company's head office in an arranged photograph in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March. 9, 2015.Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg