Indonesian ride-hailing firm Gojek has experienced significant growth in the number of partners and users since its launch in Singapore at the end of 2018. This year, the decacorn wants to continue building on that.
Gojek representatives told Daily Social that Singapore is a strategic market for the company. It plans to launch new transportation products to add more benefits for users and drivers there, including new features for corporate clients, taxi orders, and large vehicles. The firm is also exploring other potential services that are relevant to the market, to launch them either individually or through partnerships.
Co-founder and co-CEO Kevin Aluwi earlier told ChannelNews Asia that Gojek wants to make a lasting impact in Singapore for the years to come, and that it is currently looking at “strategic investments” to develop the business. The company has been busy expanding its ride-hailing options. “We are the first vehicle-booking operator in the country to offer multi-destination features for up to three locations,” the representative said.
Singapore has several strong local players in the sector. DBS Group Research found that in 2019, three companies dominated the market: Grab (with an estimated 2.8 million driver partners and 2.4 billion trips), Gojek (1 million partners and 1.2 billion trips), and Indian company Ola Cabs (1 million partners and 1 billion trips).
However in 2020, the gross merchandise value for ride-hailing services declined in Southeast Asia, according to a report from Google, Temasek, and Bain, dropping from USD 13 billion in 2019 to USD 11 billion in 2020 due to social restrictions amid the pandemic. It is nevertheless projected to grow beyond USD 42 billion by 2025. Indonesia was the highest contributor in 2020 with USD 5 billion of GMV, followed by Singapore with USD 2 billion.
In comparison, the global ride-hailing market value reached USD 75.39 billion in 2020, and is expected to grow to USD 117.34 billion by 2021, according to MarketsandMarkets research.
Core infrastructure in Singapore
Gojek already set foot into Singapore in 2017 with a data team, which supports all markets in Southeast Asia, relying on the talent and infrastructure that the city offers. The team is essential to improve efficiency and user experience on the Gojek platform, from customer service, to pricing algorithms, routing tools, and allocations.
The company says that within three years, staff in that office more than tripled in numbers. There are currently several areas that are being developed, including data analytics, data science, and machine learning.
“We are expanding our Singapore-based technology talent, particularly in cybersecurity and data analytics, to support the growth of our business across the region,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to promote Gojek’s dynamic values and culture on various channels, including social media, and the ecosystem such as in universities, to reach, train and recruit the best talent.”
This article first appeared in Daily Social.