Indonesia’s Go-Jek Goes Live in Hanoi Amid Expansion Drive

The Southeast Asia ride-hailing market is dominated by startups like Grab, Lyft and Arcade City. Uber’s exit from the region has opened doors for other players to regain lost market share. Banking on the opportunity is latest entrant Go-Viet, the on-demand multi-service platform supported by Go-Jek, that has started its operations in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

In May 2018, it was announced that Go-Jek is investing $500 million towards its international expansion strategy, starting with four countries in South East Asia; Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines.

From Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi

The Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek announced the news as at its official launch event held in Vietnam, attended by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo as well as Vietnam’s Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The.

The Hanoi launch will help people to access two-wheel ride-hailing (Go-Bike) as well as courier services (Go-Send). This means Go-Viet has begun its expansion to Southeast Asia with the current presence in two major cities of Vietnam. The company had launched limited operations in Ho Chi Minh City on August 1.

Speaking at the launch event, Duc Nguyen, Go-Viet’s co-founder and the chief executive officer said, “We are so proud that the people of Vietnam have responded so positively to Go-Viet. They have shown such enthusiasm for our services since we began operations in Ho Chi Minh City a few weeks ago. During that time, the app has been downloaded 1.5 million times despite the fact that it was not yet fully operational or officially launched. Now that we’re in Hanoi too, we believe we’ll see even more success as more people enjoy the services we offer.”

“Go-Jek supports us with its, while our local founding management team uses its in-depth understanding of what Vietnamese consumers and driver partners need the most, to decide how that technology can be used to greatest effect” Duc added.

Need More Competition in Ride-Hailing Market

Nadiem Makarim, chief executive officer and founder, Go-Jek, said at the launch event, “We’re proud to share our uniquely Indonesian technology and to see people in other countries benefit from it through increased efficiency in urban mobility and most importantly, through improved overall welfare. We’re so excited about what the future might hold for us in Vietnam, not least because the management team at Go-Viet shares our determination, passion and enthusiasm for using technology to create a positive impact on society.”

He further went onto say that consumers need more choices and the market needs more competition to allow the industry to grow sustainably.

Go-Viet is the first step of Go-Jek’s international operations. Its arrival means the technology on which Go-Jek is based is now available to the Vietnamese population. Till now, 25,000 driver partners have joined the platform in Vietnam.

Go-Jek’s planned international rollout includes further operations in Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. Go-Viet also expects to introduce additional services such as Go-Car, a four-wheel ride service, Go-Food, for quick food delivery and Go-Pay, its e-money service.