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GoTo plots global expansion on backbone of SME merchants
This week's merger announcement from Gojek and Tokopedia points to greater, global things to come for the homegrown tech giants, albeit through low-key, modestly worded messaging.
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Drivers in Gojek-branded gear wait for delivery orders at a distribution center in Surabaya, East Java, on May 17, 2021, when Gojek and Tokopedia unveiled their merger to form GoTo Group, the largest Indonesian tech start-up to date. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto )
D
uring a media event on Tuesday, top executives from the newly minted tech giant GoTo, a merger of homegrown decacorn Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia, joked about their companies’ taglines.
Tokopedia uses “Mulai Aja Dulu” (start first) while Gojek, which started out as a call center for ojek (motorcycle taxi) ride-hailing and delivery services in congestion-choked Jakarta, has adopted the slogan “Pasti Ada Jalan” (there must be a way) in recent years.
“There’s a lot of things that we need to do and prepare for the IPO [initial public offering] and it will be very hard, but yes, there is certain to be a way,” Andre Soelistyo, CEO of GoTo and GoTo Financial, said with a chuckle. He was referring to the merged group's planned dual listing in the US and on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX).
Yet Andre’s modest statement and the two companies’ positive slogans belie the ambitiousness of the merger.
At the event, Andre took turns alongside Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwijaya and Gojek CEO Kevin Aluwi in presenting the company’s vision, which included plans for regional and global expansion and turning the combined Gojek-Tokopedia network into an e-commerce juggernaut a la Alibaba.
“It’s not a question of if, but when GoTo goes global. We want to be a global brand from Indonesia that future generations will remember, just like Alibaba in China,” said William.
GoTo will need to build a solid base at home before it can expand overseas, however. Toward this end, it plans to continue to rely on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that make up the largest percentage of partnering merchants for both Tokopedia and Gojek.
