Commentaries: Grab vs Gojek (ง •̀_•́)ง

Dear Readers,

I recently learned about how two friends somehow managed to deal with personal/family issues while running a company without losing their sanity and enthusiasm. I’ve experienced that rough patch too, and it was crazy and challenging.

I also heard about another founder who’s fighting health-related issues while trying to save her startup. That’s playing life at an insanely hard mode.

As leaders of the pack, founders are accustomed not to show any weaknesses and to always put up a strong front. IMO, it doesn’t always have to be that way. It’s only when founders get together that some of the truest stories and the purest emotions are shared. I’m happy to listen, and I hope that when I’m going through tough times, they will be there to listen to me, too.

You can find last week’s Commentaries – “A list of startups I like ❤️” – here. If you’re a TIA subscriber, you can read all our Commentaries here.

Enjoy reading!

– Willis, Tech in Asia

Stories with commentaries

Illustration: Centaine Lim

1. Grab vs Gojek (ง •̀_•́)ง
If the data is accurate, Grab may be winning the ride-hailing battle, but the more important struggle is the war to become the dominant super app. On this front, Gojek had a headstart as a matter of survival, but Grab is not too far behind and is even ahead in some respects. It’s hard to go toe-to-toe against the trifecta of SoftBank, Lippo Group, and Grab, but Gojek is pressing forward.

Gojek’s latest interesting move is the launch of GoGames, a service that enables users to top up gaming credits, read up on trends and guides for games, and consume content from influencers and professionals in the space. Content and advertising remain a largely untouched frontier for both parties, and we might see the battle shift there soon.

⇒ Read: The state of the super-app race in Southeast Asia

⇒ Read: Super-app tit for tat

2. Amazon and Indonesia 🇮🇩
Amazon Prime in Singapore was awesome, but I didn’t use it so much. Great service, but lousy range of product selection. I’m sad. With that gone, Amazon’s ecommerce business in Southeast Asia is almost non-existent.

It could enter Southeast Asia with a bang by buying up competitors, but Alibaba already has stakes in Lazada and Tokopedia. Shopee belongs to Sea Group and possibly sees limited reasons to work with the US giant. So what can Amazon do?