Brazil: Valor-01/Sao Paulo

Date Filed
12 Mar 2021
Status
Closed
Phase
Dispute Resolution (DR)
Country
Brazil

Case Tracker

Eligibility
Eligibility
Assessment
Assessment
Dispute Resolution
Dispute Resolution
Monitoring
Closed
In October 2022, the conclusion report was released, and the case is now closed.
Compliance
CURRENT Status
Closed(DISPUTE RESOLUTION)
In October 2022, the conclusion report was released, and the case is now closed.

Complaint Overview

Complainant

Residents neighboring an iFood-Tembici support point in São Paulo

Concerns

Health and Safety

Cross-Cutting Issues
Community Health and Safety Risk Management

Project Information

Region
Latin America & the Caribbean
Institution
IFC
Name & Number
Valor 43308
Company
Valor Venture Partners Management LLC
Sector
Financial Markets
Department
Finance and Markets
Category
FI
Commitment

$35 million in equity investment

Synopsis

Project Overview

IFC has an active equity investment of up to USD $25 million in Valor Venture Fund III and up to USD $10 million in Valor Opportunity Fund. Valor Venture and Valor Opportunity invest in early-stage technology companies and international technology companies seeking to expand into Latin America, and specifically into Brazil. Valor has an active investment in Tembici, the largest bike-sharing company in Latin America. In 2020, Tembici partnered with iFood—a mobile platform where customers can find and order food from restaurants—to implement the project “iFood Pedal”. According to information on Tembici’s website, the project includes flexible plans for iFood delivery partners to use Tembici’s bikes and to create support points—where delivery partners can check-in and return e-bikes, eat, and charge their phones, among other services.

Complaint

An individual submitted the complaint to the CAO on behalf of himself and the residents of the building in which he resides in São Paulo, Brazil. The complaint raises concerns related to the establishment of a Tembici/iFood support point in October 2020, close to the building, which resulted in crowding the sidewalk to the point where residents had to walk on the road, putting their physical integrity at risk, according to the complainants. These concerns were exacerbated by the pandemic because delivery partners using the support point allegedly did not comply with restrictions and regulations to prevent COVID-19 infections. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that delivery partners rode their bicycles carelessly, generating additional risks to residents’ safety.

Action

In March 2021, CAO received a complaint from community members (“the Complainants”) in São Paulo, Brazil, raising health and safety concerns related to the operations of the country’s largest bike-sharing company(“Tembici” or “the Company”). IFC supports Tembici through an investment fund owned by Valor (“IFC Client”).

In April 2021, CAO determined that the complaint met its three eligibility criteria and began its assessment. The Complainants and Tembici expressed an interest in engaging in a CAO dispute resolution (“DR”) process to resolve the issues raised in the complaint. Per the CAO Policy, the complaint was transferred to the CAO Dispute Resolution (“DR”) function in August 2021.

Due to COVID-19-related restrictions on travel and social gatherings, both the assessment and the DR process were held virtually, with the consent of the Complainants and the Company (“the Parties”). During the DR process, the Parties reached an agreement through shuttle diplomacy and two joint meetings facilitated by CAO. On February 9, 2022, the parties electronically signed the agreement document, which is confidential.

On February 4, 2022, Tembici informed the Complainants and CAO that it would discontinue its operations in the premises neighboring the Complainants' building and move to another location in another area of the city. The move was completed on August 30, 2022. 

CAO monitored the agreement until then at the request of the Parties and subsequently closed the case in October 2022. The conclusion report is available in the "Case Documents" section on this page.   
 

Status

As a result of the voluntary Dispute Resolution process, the parties reached an agreement, and CAO completed the dispute resolution monitoring. The case will now be closed in line with CAO’s Policy.

The conclusion report is now available in English and Portuguese.

Status as of October 07, 2022

Case Documents

  • Complaint, Assessment & Dispute Resolution

    Complaint
    Letter of Complaint (Redacted)
    Mar 12, 2021
    Portuguese
    Letter of Complaint (Redacted)
    Assessment & Conclusion Report(s)
    Assessment Report
    Jul 02, 2021
    English
    Assessment Report
    Assessment Report
    Jul 02, 2021
    Portuguese
    Assessment Report
    IFC Response to CAO Assessment Report
    Jul 16, 2021
    English
    IFC Response to CAO Assessment Report
    Conclusion Report
    Oct 07, 2022
    English
    Conclusion Report
    Conclusion Report
    Oct 07, 2022
    Portuguese
    Conclusion Report
  • Mailchimp Survey

     

    We Value Your Feedback

    Thank you for visiting CAO’s new website. Help us improve your experience by taking our short survey.

    Give Feedback No thanks