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Gojek: Bridging the gap between SMEs and Big Tech in Indonesia


Technology has the ability to empower those in a community to achieve better, faster, and more efficient results. Gojek is an Indonesian start-up that began with a vision to use technology to improve the lives of motorcycle taxi drivers. The company has now flourished into an online ecosystem that connects Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia to millions of customers and Big Tech clients. This effort is further improving the lives of millions in the region.

Who is Gojek?

Gojek is Indonesia’s first unicorn company and Super App that provides a multitude of services to thousands of users across Southeast Asia, such as ride-hailing, food delivery, beauty services, entertainment booking and online payments. The company believes there is always a way to solve everyday problems and create a positive social impact using advancements in technology. As SMEs make up most of the businesses in Indonesia, Gojek helps SMEs in Indonesia by creating a digital platform that connects consumers and businessmen efficiently and seamlessly. Overall, the company managed to raise billions of dollars in financing from Google, Tencent, JD.com, Mitsubishi and VISA. More recently, Facebook and Paypal also invested in Gojek’s financial technology division, thereby officially joining Gojek’s list of high profile investors that share the mission of increasing digital economic growth in Southeast Asia.

Connecting SMEs with Big Tech in Indonesia

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing digital economy. Therefore, Gojek plays an important role in facilitating the growth of the digital economy by acting as a medium of communication between Big Tech companies who want to invest in the region and Indonesia’s SMEs. This results in more sustainable business opportunities.

Gojek helps SMEs in Indonesia by increasing financial inclusion through the digital payments platform on GoPay that is supported by Whatsapp. Digital payments are safer and more reliable for both customers and businesses, yet the majority of SMEs in Indonesia still operate on a cash-basis. SMEs operate this way because they lack access to financial services such as setting up a bank account. This reliance on cash payments only has limited the financial ability and customer reach of SMEs in Indonesia.

However, since its launch in 2015, through its app, Gojek has helped more than a hundred thousands of Indonesian merchants tap into an international market of more than 170 million people across Southeast Asia. In particular, Gojek’s GoPay functionality allows Indonesians who do not have bank accounts to participate in the digital economy by transferring money through Whatsapp, a social media app owned by Facebook that is used by a majority of the Indonesian population.

Gojek’s role during COVID-19

In light of the impact of COVID-19, which rendered consumers unable to physically visit stores, Gojek successfully converted 100,000 traditional businesses onto Gojek’s online platform, saving them from going out of business. By providing SMEs with complete digital solutions and tools, business owners no longer solely rely on in-store sales. Now, they are able to migrate their business online and take advantage of Gojek’s established online platform in light of the pandemic.

In other words, Gojek helps SMEs in Indonesia by promoting digital literacy and skills that will allow them to adapt their business model and increase their chances of reaching more customers, thereby building the long term resiliency of SMEs. Not only does the company play a crucial role in ensuring the delivery of essential food and goods are carried out, but Gojek has also played an active role in helping the Indonesian society by providing relief programs and soft loans for its drivers. For instance, Gojek’s senior management initiated a pay cut to allocate more than $7 million for its drivers and employees that are struggling due to the decrease in demand for Gojek’s services. As a whole, Gojek has helped the Indonesian government manage the COVID-19 pandemic by contributing to the backbone of the Indonesian economy.

It is clear that Gojek’s mission to solve the friction in everyday life is beginning to have a positive impact. It can be seen through the financial aid and support that the organization provides to the SMEs in Indonesia. By connecting Big Tech companies and SMEs, Gojek helps SMEs in Indonesia by giving them a louder voice and increased competitiveness in the regional and international marketplace of the digital economy.

– Mariyah Lia
Photo: Flickr

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World Update: Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Japan

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in JapanJapan is a sovereign island nation located on the eastern coast of Asia and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea. Its household income per capita in 2017 was $1.7 billion, and Japan ranks the top three world’s largest economy, only behind U.S. and China. In 2016, its GDP reached $4.94 trillion.

Japan has outstanding technology achievements, a comprehensive social system and a very advanced transportation system that included bullet trains 51 years ago. Even though the overall economic condition of Japan is very mature, there are severe poverty issues behind these numbers. Here are top 10 facts about poverty in Japan.

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Japan

  1. The Japanese economy decreased sharply since 2012. While the world GDP grew from $74.89 trillion to $74.1 trillion from 2012 to 2014, Japanese GDP shrank from $6.203 trillion $4.85 trillion in 2015.
  2. Japan sets disposable income below $14,424 as the poverty level. In 2013, there was 12 percent of the national population under the poverty level.
  3. In 2010, there was 32 percent of females who are 23 to 64 years old in poverty, and the rate of males was 25 percent. Since the GDP growth was -0.115 percent in 2011 and later it has been recovering in a very slow path, the poverty condition is consistent.
  4. The average wages of Japan in 2016 was around $39,113. This number was far less than the average U.S. wage, which was about $60,154. More importantly, while constant prices increased 1.2 percent from 2015 to 2016, its average wage only increased 0.7 percent. The wage growth rate makes Japanese people barely able to pursue higher standards of life.
  5. At least one in every six children struggle with poverty problems, issues that often inhibit them from accessing higher levels of education. To solve this problem, Japan sets the compulsory education system until the age of 15. In 2013, the Japanese government passed the law to increase the number of social workers in school and increased free, after-school tutors.
  6. The aging population is one of the most severe issues in Japan. In 2016, the Japanese population was around 127 million; however, in the next five decades, the population is likely to shrink by about one-third, and the population of over-64-year-olds may increase from 25 to 38 percent. This dilemma largely decreases Japanese labor force.
  7. The Japanese government announced in 2009 that there were around 16,000 homeless people on the streets. Around 35 percent of this population was about 60 years old, but the number has been dropping since April 2012. For example, the number dropped around 12 percent from 2011 to 2012 due to the support of health and welfare ministry.
  8. The average house price in greater Tokyo increased more than 12 percent from 2014 to 2015; however, the price-to-income ratio in 2016 was 11 percent. This is the first time the ratio has exceeded 10 percent since the 1990 bubble economy. The higher house price puts more people in jeopardy and as a result, more people become homeless.
  9. There is a large income gap in Japan, especially under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies. For example, people who live in Tokyo are gaining benefits an their average taxable income raised near 7 percent through fiscal 2016. However, the income of people who live in Kagawa dropped during the same period.
  10. In Japan, more than 99 percent of businesses are small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are influential supporters of the Japanese economy. Based on a report in the Economist Intelligence Unit, though, SMEs have been in decline since the 1990 bubble economy, and the decline continued through the 2008 economic crisis as many of them are reliant upon the domestic economy.

The Japanese government currently works to set new policies to promote economic development, and strives to effectively solve issues such as the ones in the top 10 facts about poverty in Japan. 

 – Judy Lu
Photo: Flickr

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Small Businesses Make Big Changes in Developing Nations

Small businesses make big changesSmall- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are estimated to account for more than 90 percent of businesses in the world. SMEs employ around 60 percent of employees in private sectors and add around 50 percent of the world GDP. The benefits of SMEs cannot be overstated–small businesses make big changes.

Mahindra Rise is an example of a company that has far outgrown the small business classification, but it is an inspiring story for up and coming enterprises. Mahindra Rise began in 1945 in India as a steel company but has had the success and adaptability to extend beyond steel production. This company now works in 20 industries over 100 countries and is best known for its vehicle production.

At the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya, former President Barack Obama said, “Entrepreneurship creates new jobs and new businesses, new ways to deliver basic services, new ways of seeing the world—it’s the spark of prosperity.” President Obama is describing how small businesses make big changes. Here are a few examples of that small business strength.  

Farmerline

A mobile app based out of Ghana, co-founded by Emmanuel Owusu Addai and Alloysius Attah, Farmerline helps small farm-holders across Africa. A small-scale farm is dependent on market prices, weather and farming techniques, all of which can change quickly. This app, launched in 2013, has helped over 200,000 farmers across four countries increase their harvest by sharing information through the app.

Afghan Citadel Software (ACS)

Roya Mahboob helped co-found ACS at the age of 23 in 2010, helping to create a business aimed at creating opportunities for women to be incorporated into Afghanistan’s growing technical culture. Some of what ACS does is build internet classrooms, register users for online education and produce videos by young Afghan women.

Nirtech Limited

Co-founded by husband and wife duo Nichole and Ricardo Thompson in Jamaica, Niritech aims to help students in the Caribbean grow in the subject of digital literacy. Through an online platform, students are connected to instructors and have better access to education in order to become more competitive in the job industry.

FaceTagr

Vijay Gnanadeikan created the FaceTagr app to use face recognition to help find and identify missing people. The Chennai IT developer came up with the idea because of the huge amount of children that go missing in India; estimates are that about five children per hour disappear. Right now, the app is being tested by the police and government and, so far, FaceTagr has helped to locate 100 children in India.

Emerging companies understand their local contexts and create niches in order to compete with large multinational corporations. Local companies use their knowledge and understanding to work around institutional voids and an inability for market research. Companies that treat voids as opportunities create profitable enterprises. These small businesses make big changes in their world by not being afraid to compete and discovering the local needs.

– Natasha Komen

Photo: Flickr