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§ Private Profile · 4883 Avenida Alfredo Benavides 701 Santiago de Surco, Lima, PE
Turbodega is a company.
Key people at Turbodega.
Turbodega develops a B2B SaaS solution specifically for independent small grocery stores, known as bodegas, across Latin America. The company provides a comprehensive platform that digitizes the entire supply chain, connecting consumer packaged goods companies and third-party distributors directly with these small businesses. Its core offering includes a sales representative application that optimizes in-person store visits and a WhatsApp-integrated marketplace platform, enabling store owners to place orders efficiently.
The company was co-founded by Paolo Melgarejo, Daniel Franco, and Julio Castañeda, emerging around the 2020-2021 period. Their founding insight centered on the significant opportunity to modernize the antiquated supply chain within the informal retail sector of Latin America, recognizing the need for integrated digital tools to improve operational efficiency for both suppliers and small store owners.
Turbodega’s clientele consists primarily of small, independent grocery store owners in Latin American markets. The platform aims to empower these businesses by streamlining their procurement processes and fostering a more connected ecosystem with their suppliers. The company’s vision is to continue enhancing the digital integration of this vital retail segment, ensuring sustainability and growth for thousands of local entrepreneurs.
Key people at Turbodega.
Turbodega is a mobile-first platform that digitizes inventory management and supply chains for small-format grocery and convenience stores (bodegas) in Latin America, primarily serving bodega owners and CPG brand distributors.[1][4] It solves the inefficiency of pen-and-paper ordering processes reliant on salespeople by offering an easy-to-use chatbot for aggregating and placing orders, with plans to expand into working capital credit, automated fulfillment, point-of-sale systems, and analytics.[1] Launched in 2019, the company has achieved early traction with hundreds of bodegas and several large distributors in Peru, raised $3 million in funding, and expanded into Mexico.[1][5]
Turbodega was co-founded by Daniel Franco (from Peru), Julio Castañeda (from Mexico), and Paolo Melgarejo, who met while studying at McGill University and later built the technical infrastructure in Peru.[1] The idea emerged from recognizing the underserved needs of over 2 million bodegas across Latin America, which handle significant retail sales but suffer from outdated supply chain practices.[1] It gained early momentum as the winning team in the 2019 Social Business Creation Competition, a social enterprise project developing management software for small grocers in emerging markets, leading to $3 million in funding and expansion across Peru and Mexico.[3][5]
Turbodega rides the wave of supply chain digitization in emerging markets, targeting Latin America's 2 million+ bodegas that represent a major but overlooked retail segment.[1] Timing aligns with rising mobile penetration and e-commerce growth in the region, amplified by post-pandemic shifts toward efficient, contactless operations for small retailers.[1][4] Favorable market forces include the inefficiency of traditional CPG distribution—reliant on paper and sales teams—and increasing investor interest in fintech-enabled networks for underserved SMBs.[1][5] By empowering bodegas, it influences the ecosystem by modernizing community-centric retail, boosting local economies, and enabling scalable data-driven insights for distributors.[1][2]
Turbodega is poised for regional dominance by scaling its platform across Latin America, leveraging its $3 million funding to roll out advanced features like credit and analytics while expanding distributor partnerships.[1][5] Trends like AI-driven supply chain tools and embedded finance for SMBs will accelerate growth, especially as bodegas adopt mobile tech amid economic pressures.[1][4] Its influence could evolve from a Peruvian-Mexican niche player to a category leader, transforming daily shopping and retail competitiveness—ultimately fulfilling its vision of touching millions of lives in underserved communities.[1]
