As it celebrates its 11th anniversary, the leading on-demand service platform Gojek has introduced further innovations in three of its services - transportation, food delivery and logistics - as part of its commitment to the public, MSME partners and driver-partners.
As of June, Gojek has been downloaded more than 190 million times. A recent survey by the Institute of Demographics at the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics and Business (LD FEB UI) estimated that, excluding Tokopedia, Gojek and GoTo Financial’s digital ecosystem have contributed 1.6 percent to Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has reached approximately Rp 249 trillion (US$17.27 billion) in 2021. This is an increase of 60 percent from the previous year. The same research also found that 86 percent of Gojek customers will continue to use Gojek services even without promotions.
In a recent press conference, Gojek cofounder and CEO Kevin Aluwi conveyed how since Gojek’s inception 11 years ago, innovation has always been a part of the company’s DNA.
“We always try to bring the latest innovation and technology to answer the challenges and daily needs of the public. Even during the pandemic, we continue to bring solutions to help them adapt,” he said.
“We believe that through innovation, we can make life easier for people including our millions of driver-partners and business partners, especially for MSMEs, to continue growing despite the pandemic.”
Bringing the best culinary experience through GoFood
As the market leader in online food delivery services, GoFood has introduced the GoFood PLUS and Order Sekaligus (Simultaneous Order) features to provide extra convenience and value for money for its customers.
GoFood PLUS is a subscription service for direct discounts, including on delivery fees. The feature has been a hit with GoFood customers, with GoFood’s internal data showing that GoFood PLUS customers grew by nearly five times from January to June.
Meanwhile, the Order Sekaligus feature allows customers to order food and beverages from multiple restaurants in nearby locations. To date, the feature is available in 41 locations in seven major cities including Greater Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. Since its introduction in September 2020, Order Sekaligus locations have increased eightfold.
“Not only providing customers with the best culinary experience, GoFood also increases the exposure of local MSME merchants through data personalization technology that allows customers to receive personalized culinary recommendations from MSME partners in their area based on their preferences. This hyperlocal approach provides MSME merchants greater access to customers, in turn increasing their income opportunities,” Kevin said.
For MSME partners, GoFood provides support through the GoBiz app’s BizTips feature, which contains a host of business tips on independent management. This allows culinary MSME partners to run their businesses more efficiently.
To date, GoFood has reached approximately 1 million culinary partners, 99 percent of which are MSMEs. In 2021, 250,000 new businesses registered in GoFood, with 43 percent being first-time business owners.
GoFood’s presence has also helped newly minted businesses grow. GoFood’s internal data showed that the average monthly income of business partners who recently joined GoFood increased sevenfold during Q2 2020.
A greener yet more comfortable ride with Gojek
After the success of its initial pilot project with electric motorcycles and cars, Gojek has expanded its plans for electrification through commercial testing.
The company has collaborated with state-owned oil company Pertamina for a battery swap scheme for the Gesits and Gogoro electric motorcycles. In this phase, Gojek will trial the use of 500 electric motorcycles in South Jakarta, to be later increased to 5,000 units and a combined mileage of 1 million kilometers.
During the commercial testing phase, Gojek users will be able to select electric vehicles for their GoRide, GoFood, GoSend Instant, GoShop and GoMart services with a pick-up and drop-off area in South Jakarta.
According to Kevin, the commercial testing is a manifestation of Gojek’s commitment to sustainability, particularly to reaching carbon neutrality through the transition to electric vehicles in the Gojek ecosystem by 2030.
“Acknowledging the importance of a capable and reliable ecosystem, we will continue to seek tech solutions, support infrastructure, as well as deep collaborations with stakeholders to ensure the transition to electric vehicles goes smoothly; all the while providing a more environmentally friendly riding experience for our customers and driver-partners,” he said, adding that Gojek would also form an independent business unit focusing on electric vehicles.
At the same time, Gojek is also collaborating with PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia for the GoTransit feature, integrating Jakarta’s commuter line train (KRL) tickets with on-demand transport services such as GoRide and GoCar to increase convenience during travels. Based on Gojek’s internal data, most users utilize the GoRide and GoCar services for rides to and from commuter line stations in the Greater Jakarta area.
GoSend leads through innovation in logistics
During the pandemic, Gojek also brought innovation to its logistics service GoSend in providing consumers with peace of mind and for business owners and social sellers to survive and grow during the pandemic.
One of these innovations is through the development of the GoSend API, which integrates the GoSend service with business partners’ platforms so as to provide a reliable, affordable and convenient logistics service.
“The development of GoSend API integration makes instant and same day delivery services the prime choice of users and business owners. The GoSend API has been utilized by thousands of partners and millions of sellers. Our internal data recorded that the number of transactions from GoSend’s top partners such as e-commerce and telemedicine platforms have increased by 41 percent in H1 2021 compared to the previous year. During the same period, GoSend service usage by MSMEs also doubled,” Kevin explained.
Going forward, GoSend will launch the GoSend Multidrop feature that allows users to send multiple packages with one pickup. Through the feature, users can prioritize which packages should be delivered first, while the built-in route recommendation can save up to 30 percent in delivery costs.
Commitment toward partners and MSMEs
Throughout the pandemic, Gojek has also disbursed Rp 1 trillion through various initiatives to support MSME partners and driver-partners to survive, grow and rise in spite of the difficult circumstances. These initiatives have been proven to have a positive impact on Gojek’s partners, as research by LD FEB UI found that four out of five driver-partners were able to secure income through their partnership, while four out of five MSME believed that GoFood was beneficial to their business growth.
Kevin attributed Gojek’s ability to provide convenience to the public to the company’s driver-partners and MSME partners throughout its 11 years.
“As we understand that the pandemic has been hard for partners in our ecosystem, we have run a number of initiatives over the past two years so driver-partners could retain their income opportunity and MSME partners could grow their businesses. All of these are our form of sustainable support so that we can #BangkitBersama (#RiseTogether),” he said.
Specifically for MSME partners, Gojek’s initiatives come in forms such as promo subsidies, which encourages consumer purchases as well as providing a snowball effect so that business partners and driver-partners can receive orders.
Aside from the promo subsidies, Gojek also provided MSME partners with health protocol packages so consumers feel safe when ordering through GoFood. These packages contain both digital assets and physical equipment such as care kits, safety seals, body temperature cards, and cleaning solutions. Gojek also distributed delivery bags for drivers to help maintain hygiene, while also providing access towards COVID-19 vaccines for MSME partners in a number of regions.
Also included is the GoFood Partner Community (KOMPAG), which received a wealth of educational materials, providing MSME partners with a platform to learn and interact with each other.
For driver-partners, Gojek’s Driver Partner Welfare Program comprises three main programs: support for primary needs such as grocery allowances and vouchers as well as vouchers for affordable and healthy meals for driver-partners’ families; healthcare services and equipment such as masks, hand sanitizer, Posko Aman (health and safety point) operations, as well as access to the vaccination program for hundreds of thousands of driver-partners in more than 130 cities and regencies and income replacement support for temporarily inactive driver-partners recovering from COVID-19.
Mitra Juara Gojek 2021 provides appreciation for driver-partners
To recognize Gojek driver-partners' service and achievement throughout the pandemic, Gojek held the Mitra Juara Gojek 2021. In its fourth year, the annual award took the theme “Pejuang Pandemi” (“Pandemic Heroes”) to recognize inspirational driver-partners who have shown resilience or have been an inspiration in their community.
Aside from Gojek, the Mitra Juara Gojek 2021 also received support from companies who understood the importance of Gojek driver-partners, such as PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, Shell Indonesia, PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, AIA Financial and Alfamart.
In total, 24 partners from Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam received the Mitra Juara Gojek title in 2021. “This is our fourth year awarding inspirational partners. Their efforts have in turn inspired us to support our partners in the ecosystem to survive and heal from the pandemic, as well as continue innovating to help ease the daily lives of our partners and consumers,” Kevin said.
This year, one of the most inspirational stories came from GoRide driver-partner Jubaeroni, who was nominated by hundreds of thousands of Indonesians. Known affectionately as Ubay, he has served as a hero for his community in Pontianak, especially for those undergoing self-isolation for COVID-19.
At a time when oxygen supplies were limited, Ubay waited in line and delivered oxygen tanks without taking any payments. For two months, he delivered more than 200 oxygen tanks to those in need.
During that same period, Ubay also delivered meals through GoFood as well as medicine and vitamins through GoShop and GoMed free of charge for those undergoing self-isolation. Reasoning that those placing the orders needed them for their health and wellness, he never rejected the orders despite long distances and inclement weather.
“I am grateful that God allowed me to help others. I learned the meaning of sincerity and the meaning of happiness by seeing the smiles of others.
Meanwhile, GoCar driver-partner Charis Sakti Fitriadi from Jember founded a communal kitchen to provide food for those undergoing self-isolation, seeing it as his obligation as a healthy person to help those in need.
The impetus for the community efforts came during the peak in COVID-19 cases, where a GoCar driver-partner contracted the virus and had to stop working and self-quarantine despite being the breadwinner of his family. Charis, a family man himself, was moved by his friend’s situation, sympathizing with the mental burden of being ill while also having to provide for the family.
“My community established a communal kitchen from our own pockets, where we provide free meals for those undergoing self-isolation. Along with GoRide and GoCar driver-partners and their families, we also provide meals for the general public as well,” he said.
As the sense of community grew in Jember, many in the city were moved to donate meals as well. Unfortunately, not many had their own vehicles to deliver the food. Charis noted that his community of driver-partners, each having their own vehicles, stepped in to provide support.
“I don’t expect anything in return, because my principle in life is not about how much we can achieve, but rather how much we can give.”
Reza Firmanda, the proprietor of the Ayam-ayaman restaurant and a GoFood merchant partner, shared how throughout the pandemic, he provided assistance and mentored thousands of GoFood partners and MSMEs in Bandung through KOMPAG.
“From these sharing sessions, I learned a lot myself as I am exposed to new business models and perspectives that can help my business. If GoFood didn’t exist, I believe that Ayam-ayaman might have had to close down - my business would have been bankrupt, especially during the pandemic when most of my orders come from GoFood,” he said.
GoSend SameDay driver-partner Janjang Ardiyanto was also an active participant in his community, regularly providing reliable and trusted information on COVID-19 and vaccines to his fellow driver-partners during the early days of the pandemic when hoaxes and misinformation were rapidly spreading.
“My existence must be able to provide beneficial value to others, at the very least to the people around me.”
Community is also an important aspect for Dara Hikmawati, a midwife and medical worker at Pandeglang Berkah public hospital. With her medical knowledge, Dara creates educational content on the video platform TikTok to provide information on COVID-19 and vaccines in an entertaining way.
She is also active in a mothers’ community called Arisan Mapan (established social tontine), joining the GoPay ecosystem when she became an Arisan Mapan partner in 2018. According to Dara, the mothers’ consensus is that GoPay has eased their daily lives, ranging from purchasing electricity credits to paying bills conveniently. Since then, she has introduced GoPay and Arisan Mapan to other mothers in Pandeglang and Lebak.
“If we have good intentions, then we will be met with good things, good people, good places and good opportunities to do more good in the future,” she said.
