Incumbents like Grab, MVL, FastGo and Aber are crowding the ride-hailing space in Vietnam. The latest addition to the list is Go-Viet, an on-demand multi-service app backed by Indonesian ride-hailing service Go-Jek. The app offers services in 12 districts across Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

A Vietnam-based founding team is managing Go-Viet which provides technology, knowledge, and expertise from Go-Jek. The startup has on-boarded thousands of drivers and will provide a range of services including transportation, logistics, food-delivery and mobile payments.

“Go-Viet aims to use technology to improve life in Vietnam, providing people with access to products and services, helping to create more value for society, improving efficiency and productivity and promoting financial inclusion,” the company said in a press release.

Founded in 2010 by Nadiem Makarim, Go-Jek specializes in ride-hailing, logistics, and digital payments. As of May 2018, the Indonesian unicorn startup has over one million drivers and offers 18 app-based on-demand services

First International Foray

Over the past few months the competition between the two major players in the APAC market – Grab and Uber – has escalated especially after the former acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia business late March. The entry of Go-Viet could mean getting a better alternative at competitive fares. Go-Viet will be the first of Go-Jek’s international operations to launch. As a part of the company’s $500 million international expansion plan, Go-Jek will expand operations in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Philippines. Go-Jek says that it will provide technical support and expertise to local founding teams in all the four markets.

Extending Market Reach

At the launch of Go-Viet, Duc Nguyen, Go-Viet co-founder and CEO, said, “Our initial testing phase has gone extremely well, and we are overwhelmed by the positive feedback we have received from our testers. As we broaden the reach of our services across more districts in Ho Chi Minh City, we invite everyone to download our app and try it out.”

He believes Vietnam could benefit greatly from Go-Jek services and hopes the people of Vietnam will start seeing his company as their go-to transport and logistics app.

As the soft launch stage commences, Go-Viet says it will continue to improve its technology as it receives feedback from a broader range of users ahead of its full launch across Southeast Asia, which will take place within the next few weeks.