CITC: 500% Increase in Saudi Delivery Agents .. and Over 12 Million Orders Fulfilled

The Communications and Information Technology Commission announced today that the proportion of active Saudi delivery agents on delivery apps registered with the Commission has risen by more than 500% since the curfew began at the end of last March.

The Commission said in its statement that the increase in the capacity and operational capability of delivery apps since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to setting a new record for fulfilled orders, with the rate of fulfilled orders exceeding 240% compared to 54% at the start of last April, adding that delivery apps had managed to fulfill more than 12 million orders in more than 200 cities and governorates across the Kingdom covered by delivery app activity.

Eng. Naif bin Abdulhakim Shashah, General Manager of Postal and Logistics Services at the Commission, said that the Commission, in partnership with a number of government agencies, has put in place precise governance mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of this important activity during the pandemic, citing the earlier launch by the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf), in partnership with the Communications and Information Technology Commission, of a financial support program to encourage Saudi youth to join delivery apps registered with the Commission, which includes financial incentives and motivational opportunities for Saudi youth, as an important step toward localizing this vital sector.

Eng. Shashah added that restructuring the operation of the delivery app sector was one of the Commission's key objectives, through joint and constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce in launching an initiative aimed at linking grocery stores, pharmacies, and medical supply stores with delivery apps registered with the Commission, to ensure that beneficiaries' needs are delivered to their homes with ease and convenience.

The Commission invited beneficiaries to learn about the list of apps registered with it by reviewing the

list published on the Commission's website

https://www.cst.gov.sa/list

which totaled 32 apps as of today.

The Commission had previously directed all delivery service providers operating through these electronic platforms to take a set of preventive measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, and it is intensifying its monitoring and inspection operations for all service providers to verify their compliance with preventive measures, taking numerous regulatory actions against violators.