In Brazil, a favela start-up delivers parcels where others fear to tread

A member of the Favela Brasil Express carries bags with products to be delivered at Paraisopolis slum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Leonaro Benassatto

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - For years this maze of narrow alleyways and precariously stacked cinder block homes was off limits for Brazilian e-commerce delivery companies, deemed impassable and dangerous.

Even as internet orders boomed during the pandemic, the residents of Paraisopolis, a poor community of 100,000 people in the heart of Sao Paulo, would often find their post codes rejected when they reached the online checkout.