The Race Is On
Local elections campaigns begin to heat up.
Buenos días. Did you know that public transportation in Puerto Rico is free? During the past four months, the mass transit system has been undergoing improvements and in the meantime, the service has been free.
This led to a usage spike by 26%, but free fares have not gotten everyone out of their cars because it's unreliable and dated. Consumers turn to Uber instead, known to be the most convenient transportation method to get around. That dominance may soon change.
On Your Mark, Get Set, WUJU Go!
Uber Puerto Rico Is No Longer Alone in the Ridesharing Race
After more than 8 years of riding solo, Uber Puerto Rico faces a native competitor looking to enter the market.
The WUJU app, a 100% Puerto Rican technology platform presented itself recently as the best alternative for the locals to get around and fit their daily needs.
During its initial phase, the app will offer three main services: buy/sell site, WUJU Ride and towing.
“WUJU will revolutionize the way we work and live. We have managed to bring together in one comprehensive platform more than 12 business categories from which users will have the opportunity to request services and products from small, medium and big corporations in Puerto Rico,” said Orengo, it’s founder and CEO.
WUJU Ride intends to expand its ridesharing service to the entire island. Until then, the coverage will be limited to the metropolitan area.
Ambitious Takeover Goals
Orengo admitted that its direct rival is Uber. He went on to say that the difference between Uber and WUJU is the fact that the service fee is much more affordable and its drivers will earn up to 25% more than what they currently earn with Uber.
Orengo said the service has 150 registered drivers and they expect to hire another 1,000 in the upcoming weeks.
The idea for WUJU came when Orengo went back to his hometown of Yauco, a town in the southern region of the island, (about 88 miles from the metropolitan area) and couldn't get delivery services there. He went on to say that he noticed that there was no app that could assist him in the things he needed to do every day.
He then conducted research and noticed that practically 70% of the regions outside San Juan were also encountering an absence of openness to on-demand delivery apps.
Orengo estimates WUJU will have close to 5,000 active and registered drivers and a thousand active businesses on the platform within the next three years.
It took Uber 8 years to reach that milestone on the island, already available in urban areas and popular destinations like San Juan, Ponce, and Mayagüez.
Rideshare and consumer Trends for 2023
The on-demand delivery market on the island is big. In 2023, Medalla, a light beer produced in Puerto Rico, ranked as the top item ordered through Uber Eats in convenience stores.
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport was the destination with the highest number of ride requests. This, according to Uber, who revealed its usage trends from Puerto Ricans in 2023, in mobility and orders.
About 1,700 restaurants and convenience stores make up Uber Eats in Puerto Rico.
Although the ridesharing market is wide open in Puerto Rico, there are a few food delivery apps established. Dame Un Bite is one of them. The delivery platform, also 100% boricua made, connects Puerto Ricans with restaurants and other businesses in their area.
Dame Un Bite, began operations in 2015 in Mayaguez and in 2017 in San Juan. Now it has more than 800 businesses on its platform that covers cities like Arecibo, Aguadilla, Cataño, San Juan, Guaynabo, Caguas, Bayamón, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto , Carolina, Levittown, Ponce, Dorado and Mayaguez.
Other local apps like Doordash and Uva!, also compete in the delivery local market.
POLITICAL SHAKEUP
Puerto Rico's Pro-Commonwealth Party Show Early Signs of Deflation
For the past elections, PPD positioned itself neck and neck with the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP). In a recent poll, however, its following have fallen.
New poll shows PNP's leader, Jennifer González, growing Appeal Among voters for the gubernatorial seat. Her main opponent? Juan Dalmau, the candidate for the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP).
Gonzalez defeated Gov. Pedro Pierluisi in a surprise upset during the primary election held last June. Since then, she has maintained a wide dominance in the latest polls. Gonzalez leads 43% to 24% from Juan Dalmau. Jesús Manuel Ortiz, PPD's contender, was just shy of 14%.
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (Partido Popular Democrático, PPD) was established in 1938 by Luis Muñoz Marín and promotes the continuing of the Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance and often promotes policies on the center-left.
The PIP's rise to the top has not been alone. The Citizens’ Victory Movement (MVC by its Spanish initials) and the PIP formed an alliance called La Alianza.
The MVC and PIP agreed that the gubernatorial candidate of the alliance is going to be Juan Dalmau.
"We are calling on everybody to vote for Juan Dalmau, but the law forces us to have a candidate for the MVC. We have a candidate for governor, Javier Cordova. But he’s telling people, don’t vote for me, vote for Dalmau, who is the candidate of the alliance", Rafael Bernabe, a MVC’s senator at-large said in an interview.
The idea behind La Alliaza came after the 2020 elections, where the MVC candidate for governor got 14% of the votes and Dalmau, the PIP candidate, got 14%. The two minority leftist parties added to 28%.
The current governor of the island, Pedro Pierluisi won the governor’s race with 33% of the vote.
PPD and PNP leaders, meanwhile, said the alliance is a deception and a trick.
SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY
The 5 Most Common Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail in Puerto Rico
“Not having access to startup funds” (29.3%), “Starting a business without any training” (26.8%) and “Loss and damage from the effects of climate change” (24.4%), were the main reasons why small businesses didn't prevail last year in Puerto Rico.
The list continues with “Not achieving enough sales” (17.1%) and “Did not meet their business lifestyle expectations” (12.2%).
These findings were gathered from a report published by Colmena66, an entity of the Puerto Rico Science, Innovation and Exploration Trust, known for connecting business visionaries with the "ideal asset brilliantly" through its Organization of Business venture Backing Associations.
The study titled "State of the Entrepreneurial Community in Puerto Rico", surveyed 711 entrepreneurs across the island to portray Puerto Rico's entrepreneurial diversity.
The study also pointed out that small businesses used $146.6 million in capital to run their company in 2023, a 62% increase from 2022.
These businesses also faced a number of obstacles, including a “Lack of maintaining a healthy contingency fund” (84.3%), “Too much dependence on personal savings” (85.9%), “Completing government regulations” (47.9%), and “Had difficulties recruiting employees” (37%).
Additionally, participants were asked about ecosystem gaps, such as the requirement for exporting their goods.
Despite the fact that 45.6% of business owners said they are interested in reaching international and U.S. markets, 66.7% are unaware of the export incentives available. Additionally, despite their desire, 34.5% of business support organizations are unable to address export issues.
According to the Puerto Rico Planning Board’s Economic Report to the Governor for 2022, the total consumers owe to lenders was $27,958.8 million during fiscal year 2022, an increase of $3,486.3 million, or 14.2%, relative to fiscal year 2021.
BEFORE YOU HIT THE BEACH
Oversight Board
FOMB filed a complaint against Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi: The Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico seeks to regulate net metering and petitioned to nullify Act 10-2024, so the PR Energy Bureau operates free from political influence.
Gov Pierluisi responded: “In the end, the important thing is for us to continue to promote the installation of solar panels and batteries all over Puerto Rico."
Politics
PNP candidate for governor surpasses $1.6 million for campaign: Jenniffer González Colón, the candidate for governor for the New Progressive Party (PNP) informed on Tuesday, the amount of $1.6 million in electoral funds. In the month of June alone, her campaign raised $911,000.
Energy
U.S. First Circuit to reconsider ruling that PREPA bondholders had secured claim: The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to review its prior ruling that holders of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bonds have a secured claim of $8.5 billion against the utility’s current and future net revenues.
The appeals court’s July 22 decision came after the FOMB had asked for a reconsideration of the ruling as part of PREPA’s bankruptcy case.
The First Circuit’s decision could affect bondholder recoveries and the confirmation of PREPA’s debt adjustment, which Judge Laura Taylor Swain is currently considering. The decision will also have implications for the broader municipal bond markets. The FOMB had anticipated it was going to seek a reconsideration of the Appeals Court ruling.
Q2 Update on PR Banks
Q2 Update on PR Banks: Oriental Bank's financial holding company, OFG Bancorp, reported results for the second quarter of 2024 that included core revenue of $179.4 million, up from $170.5 million in the previous year's quarter.
The most recent results were compared to the $174.2 million recorded for the first quarter of the year by the San Juan-based financial institution, News Is My Business (NIMB) reported.
Additionally, Popular Inc., the parent company of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, also saw quarter-over-quarter growth. Popular told NIMB that its net income for this quarter ended $177.8 million, compared to net income of $151.1 million during the same quarter in 2023, representing a $26.7 million year-over-year jump.
Finally, First BanCorp., the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico, reported a net income of $75.8 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2024. This compares to $73.5 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2024, and $70.7 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2023.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
2024 Puerto Rican Status Referendum: Described as “inconsequential”, the $1.3 million referendum scheduled for the Nov. 5 general elections will feature three choices: independence with free association; statehood and independence.
USDA' Sees Puerto Rico's Agricultural Production Growing by 1.4%
Puerto Rico bans discrimination against people wearing Afros, curls, locs, twists, braids and other hairstyles
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