[Startup Struggles⑥-1] The App Indonesia Is Crazy About, Gojek

Super App 'Gojek' Offering Over 20 Services
Decacorn Surpassing $10 Billion Valuation in 9 Years
Providing Jobs to Motorcycle Couriers and Masseuses
Founder Nadim Makarim Emphasizes 'Social Value'
Expanding Ideas Through Innovation and Inclusive Culture
Interest in Domestic Food Delivery and Fintech

Gojek Headquarters Entrance

[Jakarta (Indonesia) = Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] #Atti Amalia (32), an office worker at a foreign company located in Jakarta, opens the Gojek application more than five times a day. To get through the heavy traffic in downtown Jakarta during her commute, she calls a motorcycle via Gojek. At the employee cafeteria, she pays using Gojek's easy payment service 'GoPay.' When having dinner at home, she orders food through 'GoFood.' Once a week, she even receives a massage at home via 'GoMassage.' Atti said, "Before Gojek existed, motorcyclists waited for customers by the roadside, but now it's hard to see that anymore. It's convenient that even small shops can receive orders through GoFood," adding, "It's hard to imagine the days without Gojek."

Gojek is a super app that has transformed the lives of Indonesians. It provides jobs to countless Indonesians such as motorcycle drivers, small restaurant owners, massage therapists, and cleaners, while offering convenience to users. Founder Nadiem Makarim has led the business with hopes of helping marginalized groups escape poverty and revitalizing local communities. The secret to Gojek's rapid penetration into Indonesian lives lies not only in speed and innovation capabilities but also in its pursuit of 'social value.'

There are no partitions in the workspaces where Gojek headquarters employees work. This reflects the philosophy that everyone should be able to communicate comfortably.

Rest Area for Gojek Employees

◆From morning to night, Gojek changes the lives of Indonesians= Gojek's headquarters is located in Pasaraya Mall in South Jakarta, Indonesia. The entrance was bustling with people waiting for interviews to become Gojek service partners. Starting from one floor in an old shopping mall building in Jakarta, the business expanded to occupy four floors. There are 4,000 employees working in Indonesia, and including overseas subsidiaries, the total reaches 5,000. It was hard to find partitions anywhere in the spaces where employees or executives worked. On the 7th floor, used by board members, employees held meetings at large tables, and all personal office spaces were separated by glass walls, making the interior fully visible.

A Gojek official said, "Gojek values the principle of 'less, but more' the most, and the fuel for business is ideas, imagination, and problem-solving ability," adding, "Ideas coming from the top are often insufficient, and good ideas come from those closest to the problems. To expand such ideas, Gojek has an innovation-centric yet inclusive culture. All company structures are designed openly."

Andrew Lee, Global Head of Gojek, is posing in the studio where Gojek's founder Nadim Makarim is recording a podcast.

◆Rapid growth to a decacorn in 9 years since founding= Gojek provides more than 20 services in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, including transportation, payments, food delivery, logistics, massage, and cleaning services. When founded in 2010, Gojek started as a call center offering courier services in partnership with motorcycle drivers. From 2015, it transformed into a full-fledged mobile service and began its growth trajectory, becoming a unicorn (a private venture valued at over $1 billion) in 2016. This was thanks to services like 'GoRide,' which calls motorcycles via mobile in traffic-congested Indonesia, and GoFood for food orders. When Gojek launched its mobile-based ride-sharing service in Indonesia in January 2015, the monthly number of calls was only 500, but now, including food delivery and various O2O (online-to-offline) services, monthly orders reach 30 million.

By dominating Indonesia, which has a young population familiar with mobile technology, Gojek became a decacorn (a private venture valued at over $10 billion) in 2019. So far, it has attracted investments from more than 80 companies including Google, Tencent, JD, Visa, and AXA. Indonesia accounts for 45% of Southeast Asia's population, with 65% under the age of 35, making it a young country. Gojek's monthly transaction volume is about $1.5 billion. Currently, Gojek has over 2 million drivers, 500,000 registered food delivery vendors, and more than 60,000 other service providers. Gojek has created the second-largest number of jobs after the Indonesian government and generated $3 billion in added value in 2018.

◆Focus on improving the lives of marginalized groups... Growing together with local communities= Founder Nadiem was appointed Indonesia's Minister of Education in October last year. He graduated from Harvard Business School and worked at McKinsey before returning to Indonesia to realize 'Gojek,' a project from his MBA studies, as a business. Andrew Lee, Gojek's Global Chief Officer, said, "The founder Nadiem was most passionate about 'social change' and ultimately pursued structural change. Although a private company, Gojek prioritizes social value," adding, "He dreamed of raising the living standards of marginalized groups exposed to poverty in Southeast Asia and revitalizing local communities." Heo Yujin, KOTRA Jakarta Trade Center, explained, "Gojek contributes to expanding the economic scale of local communities and improving social environments," adding, "Especially, it continues social contribution activities that create jobs for socially vulnerable groups and provide them with stable employment."

Gojek solves inconveniences faced by Indonesians through its services. A representative service is GoPay. Even without a bank account or card, users can recharge GoPay with cash at ATMs and pay for service fees, various taxes, and mobile phone bills. The power of the super app comes from data. In Indonesia, where there is no credit rating service, Gojek holds data on how much small business owners earn and spend. Based on this, it also provides POS (point of sale), loans, and postpaid services for small businesses. Lee said, "About half of Indonesians do not have bank accounts, so they have to go in person to pay taxes. By solving these inconveniences with technology, it became a business," adding, "Gojek is a company so embedded in society that Indonesia cannot be explained without it."

In Indonesia, many people use motorcycle taxis due to severe traffic congestion during commuting hours. The number of drivers registered with Gojek, including motorcycles and vehicles, reaches approximately 2 million. Gojek has partnered with Blue Bird Taxi, the leading operator, providing a feature that allows users to call taxis through the Gojek app.

◆"Considering entry into Korean fintech and food delivery markets"= Gojek has expanded its business beyond Indonesia to Vietnam (September 2018), Singapore (November 2018), and Thailand (February 2019). Currently, the cumulative number of uses in Vietnam exceeds 100 million, and in Thailand, it has surpassed 10 million. It is also exploring entry into Malaysia and the Philippines. It competes with 'Grab,' a decacorn company that grew in Southeast Asia.

Lee said, "Grab started with taxis, Gojek with motorcycles. Grab tries to provide many services far and wide, but we prefer to export business models only when confident," adding, "Overseas business decisions should be made after considering where the return on investment is best. Our goal is to create sustainable growth models rather than providing services everywhere."

Gojek is also closely watching the possibility of entering Korea in food delivery or fintech (finance + technology). He said, "Korea is an attractive market, but there are no short-term plans to enter," adding, "Korea has one of the largest food delivery markets and offers different business opportunities in fintech compared to Southeast Asia, so if we gain more confidence, we will consider business entry opportunities."

Gojek is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the long term. While continuing its business diversification strategy, it aims to expand services horizontally and vertically in regions experiencing rapid urbanization like Indonesia. Lee said, "We plan to IPO at the right time," adding, "There will be regions with problems caused by rapid urbanization like Southeast Asia, and Gojek's model can work in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and other regions," concluding, "We will steadily increase replicable successful models horizontally and refine business models vertically to dominate the world."