The experience in software development that Carlos Rezino gained in his internship, thanks to the Salvadoran American Scholarship Program (SASP) of the United States Embassy in El Salvador, when a trip to Seattle to work in a technology center allowed him to pursue his project. Inspired for. Returning to our country. For two years and in his free time, Carlos dedicated himself entirely to his desire: El Charlotte, a home delivery application adapted to the businesses of his native Chalatenango, in the north of El Salvador. Carlos was in Seattle between 2019 and 2020, returning in the midst of a turbulent year where he was “stranded” due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Upon his return and with his contacts, he continued to work with North American companies to save money for his project. “I continued working with American companies, for about two years while I was working I wanted to do something, a software that would benefit the community of El Salvador,” the young man said. As of January 2023, Carlos launched the beta version of El Charlotte for Android phones, and since then they have been working on delivering orders from local businesses in Chalatenango to customers in the same municipality. Now, it also has a version for iPhone and last year alone it reported 1,300 users and over 3,200 orders. The young programmer explains, “Our plan is to validate the idea, that the application works well, that the delivery people can use the application well, that people can use it, that they can place their orders , that there should be no difficulty.” But when Carlos speaks in the plural he refers to his work team, which he has created and employs thanks to his effort, savings and now his entrepreneurship. This is his brother, and there are two other Chalateco programmers who work with him.
From design to delivery
But Carlos is not only the CEO of “El Chalet”, he is also one of the delivery people of the same application in his native Chalatenango. “It helps me understand how the delivery people are working, and I don’t think the CEO of Orders Now does anything like that,” he laughs. Currently, the 24-year-old explains that he is working on a module so that delivery people have their own wallet, which can lead to better earnings. He indicated that L’Chalet’s business model is to charge by distance, similar to Uber, i.e. calculating actual distance traveled to get a “fair” price. “We’re doing about 350 orders per month, and one delivery person covers those orders. Let’s say those deliveries are also over a dollar and our base price is $1.25,” he explains. For next May, the young entrepreneur is planning to expand and begin operations in the neighboring municipality of Aguilares, however, it plans to operate home delivery in San Salvador. Last year, young Carlos Rezino won the National Youth Award in the Science, Innovation and Technology category thanks to the development of this El Challet app.
SAPS Scholarship
In 2019, Carlos Recinos was selected by the United States Embassy in El Salvador as a scholarship recipient of the Salvadoran American Scholarship Program (SASP), which has just celebrated a decade of existence and provides young Salvadorans with the opportunity to study and train in the North American country. Sends for. , In 10 years, 407 young Salvadorans have traveled to the United States to specialize in areas such as English language and software development through SASP, with the Embassy investing $670 thousand, local partners investing $709 thousand. and US institutions have made a matching investment of $8.5 million. At the moment, the Instituto Centro Cultural, Gerardo Barrios University, the Catholic University of El Salvador, the Universidad de Oriente and the Technological University of El Salvador offer excellent students, whom they also partially support financially. The program is supported by Amity Institute, General UI, St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota and Mississippi. However, Fernando Herrera, who works in the embassy’s scholarship program, reported that they also accepted applications from the University of El Salvador and other careers, as long as they have funds to support the youth while they study in the United States.