Go-Jek will explore different verticals with focus on Indonesia before going into regional expansion, according to a Bloomberg report
Indonesian on-demand ride service Go Jek is looking to continue its growth trajectory — but regional and international expansion will have to hold off for now. According to a report by Bloomberg, the company is planning to add five more verticals to its existing 15 product offerings, which already include on-demand motorcycle rides, food delivery, courier services, shopping deliveries, and mobile payments, among others.
Go-Jek Founder and CEO Nadiem Makarim told the financial publication that the company plans to focus on dominating locally before it pushes on elsewhere. “We’ve become kind of one-app-to-rule-them-all service as opposed to just a ride hailing application,” he said. “We want to be able to control all the verticals and continue to dominate across all in just one country first before moving on to regional expansion.”
Go-Jek launched as an on-demand ridesharing service for motorcycles. It actually derived its name from ojek, which is the vernacular for motorcycle taxi or similar modes of transport — a popular means of moving about, particularly in Indonesian cities, which are among the world’s most congested in terms of traffic conditions.
The company has quickly grown past its core offering, though, and it has already had success in the on-demand/same-day delivery field for various products, as well as a fintech offering, with its mobile payment service, Go-Pay.
Also Read: Go-Jek joins the fray, closes US$550M in Asia’s ride-hailing war, led by global consortium
But while it is focusing its on-demand services in Indonesia, the company has also embarked on a strategy to explore other fields and markets by acquiring startups abroad, such as its acquisition of mobile app development startup Leftshift, home healthcare marketplace Pianta, and payment company MVcommerce — all of which are based in India. The company has also acquired other startups in India, which is a trend that indicates that its management and/or investors are keen on exploring this other emerging market.
While such deals can be seen as more of acqui-hire, Go-Jek’s presence in India is likely to play a part in any future plans to expand abroad — not only in Southeast Asia but in other regions, as well.
On-demand services have seen a boom of late, with companies like Uber and Airbnb being hailed for the way they disrupted existing business models. While other companies prefer to focus on a single, specific vertical, Go-Jek’s diversification into different businesses and business models might help it hedge against any market risk. Its local expertise in Indonesia certainly helps it build upon its capabilities locally, not to mention brand equity and mindshare.
Go-Jek is on its way to consolidate its mobile app offerings, perhaps with the aim of enhancing the user experience with a one-stop-shop app. The question at this time is which five particular services the company is planning to launch. Also, does this mean incumbents need to watch out?
—-
The post Beyond ride-sharing: Go-Jek to launch 5 new services in a bid to consolidate and dominate on-demand in Indonesia appeared first on e27.