Digital service platforms have proliferated around the world and in Latin America, primarily in services such as transportation and home delivery. In the region, however, platforms focused on care services are gradually to emerge that focus on care services.

It is an emerging market but one that, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has significant transformative potential in areas such as social and economic development, vocational training, and financial inclusion, among others. These applications target a segment of workers in Latin America who are predominantly low-income women and who operate in a largely informal market (more than 90% in many countries in the region).

In a recent study, the IDB analyzed six digital care platforms in the region—TuNanny (Uruguay), NannysApp (Bolivia), Cuidarlos (Argentina), Helpers (Paraguay), Wi Help (El Salvador), Zolvers (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico), and Hogaru (Colombia)—that focus on different objectives—childcare, elder care, and housekeeping—and operate under different business models. However, they share a common need and ambition to promote the formalization and inclusion of female workers.

Of the platforms analyzed in the study, Zolvers is the most advanced. It manages 160,000 workers and is the only one to have received funding (US$2.2 million from NxtpLabs, Jaguar Ventures, and the IDB itself) and, in Argentina, it offers services to pay social security and tax obligations on behalf of the client.

According to the IDB, these platforms can, among other things, promote the professionalization of women workers in the sector, their digital and financial inclusion, and their transition to the formal sector, and establish regional benchmarks to improve understanding of the needs of women workers in a changing and expanding market. 

You can view the study here.