Go-Jek, the unicorn start-up from Indonesia, founded by Nadiem Makarim seeks to capitalize on the Asian market as their next target.
Go-Jek began to expand to Vietnam under the name Go-Viet. Similar to Go-Jek Indonesia, Go-Viet is also an application-based transportation system, where people can enjoy online transportation services, through mobile devices.
Potentially, Go-Viet can become an alternative transportation for the locals, where motorcycles are used for almost all kind of purposes. Vietnam will be the first country for Go-Jek to spread its wing to the neighbourhood countries.
Currently, the Go-Viet apps is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
As quoted by the Nikkei Asian Review, "Go-Viet aims to be the biggest multi-services platform provider in Vietnam, and will follow international standards based on Go-Jek's technology." said Co-founder and CEO of Go-Viet, Nguyen Vu Duc.
On August 1st, Go-Viet together with Go-Jek have officially operated the business in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. After the trial phase, Go-Viet will expand to other major cities in Vietnam. The application was previously tested for 1 month in two districts of Hoi Chi Minh City (HCMC). Go-Viet claims to have thousands of drivers during the trial period and it is projected to be available in 12 districts throughout HCMC.
Apparently, Go-Viet together with Go-Jek both have big ambitions to conquer the transportation technology market in Vietnam, competing with Grab who has established the business earlier and possessed the majority of Vietnamese market.
Is that a good news?
Some might see this plan would not work accordingly due to the Vietnamese authorities are planning to reduce the number of motorbikes by 2030 and has declared that they want to eliminate motorbikes because of serious pollution problems.
From Go-Jek’s point of view they simply want to change the transportation market perspective in Vietnam. This may be a form of public transport transformation shifting from conventional to online transportation.
Nadiem Makarim said in go-jek.com, "For us it (Go-Jek on Vietnam) is not just about business growth, but how we can bring positive impact to as many people as possible,"
"They use different brands, but they continue to operate in line with the values that have made Go-Jek the market leader in Indonesia." He added.
Nguyen Vu Duc also explained in the same view, "Go-Jek is a pioneering technology company that has an ecosystem with 18 different services, and is supported by world-class strategic investors,"
"Go-Jek's support is ideal for us, not only because of technology and its expertise in this business, but also because we have the same principles, namely the desire to have a positive impact on society through improving living standards, and developing micro, small and medium business. "
Motorcycle is a threat
Air quality and pollution coming from vehicles emission are the main concerns on why the government wants to reduce the number of motorcycles in the cities, which pose threat in the long term. Due to these concerns, the government decides to give their main focus on developing public transportation, so people will no longer use private vehicles, including motorcycles.
As reported by BBC, there are only 12% of the total population of Hanoi using public transportation. Another fact has been found that the number of motorbikes in Hanoi was at a "worrying" rate with as many as 2,500 motorcycles per kilometer.
However, can Hanoi survive without motorcycles?
Blunders or strategies?
Hanoi is one of the expansion targets in Vietnam. One Hanoi resident, Ha Mi, told the BBC on July 4, he did not think the government's plan would succeed.
He said "There is no underground transportation in Vietnam, only in June Hanoi tested the first two-tier bus in several routes,"
"Looking back on history, I don't believe in the long-term plan here. The government used to say Vietnam will become an industrialized country by 2020. Everyone now realizes that this plan has failed." he added.
That is where the opportunity rises. The local community understand the market condition better. In fact, people have seen many programmes made by the government have failed. For this reason, Go-Viet and Go-Jek dare to penetrate the Vietnamese market.
The strategy lies in the combination of technology that has been developed by Go-Jek with the ability to read the market situation from local parties, so they can control and produce their own markets.
With the expertise, experience and in-depth market knowledge of the local team, they are able to create a business that truly understands the needs of consumers.
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As reported by Tech Crunch on August 1, for future goals, Go-Jek plans to expand their business to Thailand in September 2018, and the Philippines before the end of this year
Source: WHO, Tech Crunch, Aljazeera, Kompas