Go-Jek To Grow Thailand Food Delivery Business

With an investment from the top lender in Thailand, Indonesian ridesharing service Go-Jek will reportedly grow its Thai food delivery business and provide more financial services. Siam Commercial Bank Pcl (SCB) said it provided a “significant investment” in the Series F funding round of Go-Jek, Reuters reported.

The tie-up with the bank is said to let Go-Jek bring SCB’s products in payments, insurance and digital lending to its apps in the months to come. SCB President Arak Sutivong said, according to the outlet, “Our products will be connected, SCB will oversee finance while Go-Jek and Get will look at digital and logistics.” It was also noted that customers, merchants and drivers will have additional access to bank products such as small business lending as well as insurance.

Go-Jek started its Thailand operations with food delivery and motorcycle rides with the Get brand, which put pressure on Singapore-based Grab. Get reportedly claims to have more than 20,000 drivers through its app. Go-Jek, which rolled out in 2011, has grown from ridesharing to letting customers order a range of products from food to massage and groceries as well as make online payments. The company was also experimenting with cloud kitchens or delivery-only restaurants in Indonesia.

The news comes as reports surfaced last year that the Indonesian ride-hailing and online payment company was growing its financial technology services via partnerships with three peer-to-peer (P2P) lending firms.

Go-Jek President Andre Soelistyo said in a statement, according to reports in September, “We believe that a strong collaboration between financial services providers and technology companies can reach a wider range of people who have difficulty accessing financial services, such as unbanked communities.”

Go-Jek’s Go-Pay payment system rolled out in 2017, accounting for over half of the startup’s transactions. The company integrated Go-Pay into the Go-Jek app, letting customers  store money on their mobile phones — much like a digital debit card.