The Future of Grab & Gojek
A vivacious urban sharing economy theatre emanated in Southeast Asia during 2010s, with Grab and Gojek starring as its beguiling protagonists. Both companies played out a compelling script of mutual emulation and rapid expansion across the region, creating a massive, labour-intensive technology industry that has already catalysed an undeniable degree of socioeconomic impact. Perhaps nearing the script’s climax, the mutual emulation and rapid expansion has more recently turned into a fiery war of attrition — signalling an outcome in which the side with greater ammunition of financial and social capital could seize the other over the long term. As their shareholders begin to prioritise profitability over growth and the region’s potential user base become practically saturated, Grab and Gojek are now left only with each other to target.
The prevailing scenario for such a climatic event is the potential acquisition of Gojek by Grab, a possibility that was till recently dismissed in relevant discussions as ‘unattainable’ due to the personal rivalry between the leaders of both companies. Anthony Tan (Grab CEO) and Nadiem Makarim (Gojek ex-CEO) studied as MBA classmates in the US during their youth and rumoured to be close friends due to their cultural and lingual kinship in a foreign context. That once amicable relationship has contemporarily turned into a highly competitive one, as the companies which they established in their home countries became the two prominent contenders for dominance in the urban sharing economy scene across Southeast Asia. Often making tongue-in-cheek comments due their mutual habit of emulating each others’ rapidly pivoting business models, Tan and Makarim are now charismatic young leaders with great influence in their national imaginary.
In such context, Makarim decided to capitalise further on his mounting popularity among Indonesians as an inspiring figure and made an unforeseen move into politics last year, becoming the youngest Minister of Education of Indonesia under Jokowi’s latest cabinet. Such a sudden move could at first glance seem like a tremendous asset for Gojek, having its co-founder and former CEO high up in the political ranks of its largest market should inevitably pay dividends in bureaucratic leverage and regulatory relief in potential legal controversies. On the flip side of that medallion though, is the challenge of keeping Gojek as a sovereign entity without its staunch leader.
There have been numerous reports that have been suggesting Makarim’s exit may allow Grab and Gojek to broker an acquisition deal where Grab would prevail thanks to its wider spread in the region and deeper financial coffers. Such a remarkable merger would put an end to their costly rivalry. It would also irk lawmakers across the region, due to the monopolistic market influence the ‘winner’ side would enjoy, as was the case in Singapore during 2018 when Grab bought out Uber’s Southeast Asian operations. Assuming further details of what to expect from this vigorous rivalry would amount to unattested speculation, hence is out of the scope of this chapter.
It is necessary though, to note that whichever way the tale of Grab and Gojek may proceed and inevitably culminate, their impact on urban Southeast Asia is nothing short of seminal. Influencing and being mutually shaped by metropolitan realities, Grab and Gojek became globally renowned exhibits of the alluring street smarts of the otherwise invisible ‘pengojek’.
Onat has been Regional Director for Southeast Asia at wamo Technology Ltd., (a UK-licensed fintech startup) since the beginning of 2020. He ‘s also been working on Gojek as his PhD case study at the National University of Singapore since the summer of 2017. His love for QR codes began during his time in Shanghai and he’s tried his best not to carry cash ever since.
