In a historic first for the Caribbean region, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM) has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with global food and delivery platform Uber Eats, designed to drive inclusive economic growth by empowering the country’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). This alliance marks the first time Uber Eats has partnered with a public sector body across the Caribbean, marking a new milestone in cross-sector cooperation to integrate small businesses into the digital economy.
The formal agreement was signed at an official event by Dominican Industry and Commerce Minister Yayo Sanz Lovatón and Marco Nannipieri, Uber Eats’ Regional General Manager overseeing the Andean Region, Central America, and the Caribbean. The core goal of the partnership is to harness Uber Eats’ extensive digital ecosystem and large consumer base to address key barriers facing local MSMEs: limited market visibility, low customer reach, and constrained sales capacity, while upgrading small business operational efficiency through access to modern digital tools.
Under the terms of the agreement, Uber Eats will integrate its platform resources to support MICM’s ongoing MSME-focused Business Roundtables initiative. The platform will promote roundtable activities, policy campaigns, and MSME-focused promotional events directly to its millions of users through its mobile application. For MSMEs already participating in existing MICM development programs, the partnership unlocks a range of tangible benefits: prioritized visibility on the Uber Eats platform, and direct, simplified access to guidance and information on official certification processes for both general SMEs and women-led business operations. Uber Eats has also committed to sending representatives to participate in MICM industry events across all its operating territories in the region.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Yayo Sanz Lovatón framed the alliance as a model forward-thinking public-private partnership that will directly strengthen the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of Dominican MSMEs, a core driver of the country’s domestic economy. He emphasized that in the modern commercial landscape, large digital platforms have evolved into essential infrastructure that connects producers, small business owners, and consumers far more efficiently than traditional brick-and-mortar distribution networks.
For his part, Marco Nannipieri highlighted that MSMEs already make up approximately 75% of all active businesses on the Uber Eats platform, giving the company a core stake in supporting the growth of small and medium-sized operators. He echoed the significance of the agreement, noting that as the first public-private partnership of its kind for Uber Eats in the Caribbean, it sets a new precedent for expanding small business access to digital growth tools across the region.
To lower barriers to entry for participating MSMEs, the initiative includes a suite of targeted financial and operational incentives. For SMEs referred by MICM during the 2026 Business Roundtables, Uber Eats is offering a 10% discount on up to 1,500 deliveries through its Uber Flash delivery service. Additionally, newly registered MSMEs that join the platform through the partnership will receive preferential service pricing and free advertising credits tailored to their business category, helping them build momentum in their early months on the platform.