How Baidu plans to win Indonesia

Bao Jianlei – head of Baidu’s Indonesia office

Say you are a highly successful web services company and you’re looking to expanding beyond your home market. Your brand is ubiquitous with search, so obviously your strategy would be…to build a mobile app store?

This is how Baidu approaches Indonesia, arguably the most important emerging market in Southeast Asia. Over the last few years, Baidu has branded itself a “mobile-first” company. Understandable, since their mobile business took just two years to grow to a similar size as their 15-year-old desktop business.

“We generally look at countries and regions that resemble China’s Internet development several years ago.” says Bao Jianlei, head of Baidu’s Indonesia office. “That includes emerging markets with big populations and with a predilection for mobile growth, where we can reach the new wave of users who are coming online for the first time on their smartphones. Indonesia is a perfect match for Baidu’s apps.”

Avoiding Google

Baidu’s apps. A mobile-first approach. These are radical changes from how Baidu has been doing things. “We aim to be local-first,” he says.

And local is important. Indonesia currently has a smartphone penetration of 21 percent, with the market predicted to escalate. This isn’t particularly unique insight available only to Baidu, but it influenced their approach. Instead of directly challenging Google via search, Baidu is building a local ecosystem through MoboMarket, Baidu’s own Android store, which launched in February 2014. So how successful has this strategy been?

“After a lot of hard work, it’s taken off in a big way, and we’ve reached over 4 million monthly active users in Indonesia alone […] MoboMarket was built from the ground up to be a platform for local app developers to reach local users.”

Over the course of 18 months, MoboMarket has also grown to include 500,000 apps.

“It was a challenge at first to do all of the legwork: making the connections with local developers and partners, and ensuring that the marketplace itself is an intuitive, fun experience for people here to use.”

MoboMarket Indonesia

This highly localized approach to Indonesia is not unique to Baidu. This year alone, Facebook launched the Indonesian version of Internet.org, local players like Tokopedia have become entrenched in the Indonesian ecommerce market; even China’s Alibaba has launched a localized version of AliExpress.

“There are a variety of players entering the Indonesian market right now from China, as well as multinationals and also local incumbents who are growing fast.” says Jianlei. “It’s a boom town for sure, and we definitely welcome the diversity that everyone brings to the table.”

“In five years’ time, a whole lot more people in Indonesia will have a smartphone and will be online. What happens between now and then will define the future of the mobile ecosystem here.”

More than apps

Baidu is looking to replicate their Chinese online-to-offline ecosystem in Indonesia – the company is working towards letting users book offline services like private chefs.

So, by offering their own international apps for free along with the MoboMarket app store, they hope to draw more people into their network of services. The better the apps, the healthier the ecosystem, the more involved Baidu is in Indonesia’s burgeoning online market. Jianlei’s encouraging advice to developers entering Indonesia is straightforward.

“My most basic advice would be to get to know your users, get to know your audience, and just simply get outside and interact with people. There’s a lot to learn by living in a place, making friends with people and seeing how they use their devices and live their lives day-to-day. That’s hugely important to delivering a product that resonates with people.”

MoboMarket’s latest report outlining app consumption in Indonesia showed games, travel, and kids apps to be most successful. Social, while huge, is controlled by a few big players. However, Jianlei is optimistic.

“If you have something that you think is uniquely positioned to tap into Indonesians’ insatiable desire for social, by all means give it a go!”

Living like a local

In many ways, Jianlei personifies the growth that Baidu is pushing for and experiencing in Indonesia. Much like Baidu, he is also highly energized and localizing as quickly as he can.

“I started at Baidu in 2013, which is the same year we opened our local office in Jakarta. My day-to-day life is filled with all the usual trappings of the tech industry: lots of meetings, checking in with our partners, and seeing how our products and new product features are progressing.”

“I’m originally from China, so doing all that in a foreign country is really fun and exciting, and gives me a boost of energy every day because I’m constantly in a position to learn new things and expand my boundaries. I’m learning to speak Bahasa Indonesian, I’ve figured out how to navigate Jakarta and I’m exploring the local food. Of course, sometimes I miss the food from home.”

Baidu is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best and most equitable way for people to find what they’re looking for. Baidu established a presence in Indonesia with the opening of its Jakarta office in 2013. Since then, its family of mobile and PC products have gained a significant local following, with millions of people using and enjoying them on a regular basis.

Baidu’s product family in Indonesia includes the Android marketplace MoboMarket, the Android utility apps DU Battery Saver and DU Speed Booster, the mobile browser Baidu Browser and more. Together, Baidu’s products and services in Indonesia have tens of millions of frequent users