Today, Go-Jek announces its expansion to four Southeast Asian countries. It’s planning to be available in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines within the next few months. The company has prepared $500 million (around 7,1 trillion Rupiah) budget for this expansion.
The plan has been reported since the end of last year, when Ajay Gore, Go-Jek’s CTO, interviewed about the possibility of the Philippines expansion, and it’s getting traction when Uber’s operation in Southeast Asia is acquired by Grab. Uber’s departure from the market is considered as the perfect moment for Go-Jek’s expansion. There’s no further explanation of the targeted segment in those countries but on-demand transportation still the main priority.
In Indonesia, Go-Jek has dominated the on-demand service with various treats, including food and package delivery, house cleaning, and beauty service. In addition, Go-Jek is leading with Go-Pay (payment service) that has begun to escalate outside Go-Jek ecosystem after obtaining QR Code license for cashless payment.
Nadiem Makarim, Co-Founder and CEO of Go-Jek, in the release said, “Consumers are most satisfied and happy when they have more options. Currently, the population of Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines feel that they don’t have enough options for ride-hailing transportation services. We expect Go-Jek’s expansion to those countries can bring a healthy business competition in need for market growth.”
“Our objective is to collaborate with those countries and their government, so the technology that we bring may have broad impact for all. [..] We [Go-Jek] believe, the best way for international expansion is to partner with talented locals, share our vision, and understand how to serve the best for their nations. The role of Go-Jek is to advise, share operational experience and business development. Therefore, they [partners and locals] can create the positive impact brought by Go-Jek in the best ways possible according to the characters and needs of their country,” he added.
The bottom line is Go-Jek will engage local partners for expansion. According to our sources, a joint venture in Vietnam will be called Go-Viet. A similar step will be performed in other countries. In the bigger picture, there are several Indonesian startups going regional besides Go-Jek. Traveloka is the most significant with operational service (and local teams) almost in all SEA countries.
Andre Soelistyo, Go-Jek’s President, added, “We’ve been considering the international expansion for a long time. We want to make sure to perform the plan at the right moment with our strongest position. In our last investment round, there are many strategic investors joined, national and global. It brings up our confidence and believes that we have enough support to be the inspiring story of startup development, from Indonesia to be a regional phenomenon.”
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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian