Go-Viet storms into food delivery but takes small steps in fintech

Go-Viet will enter food delivery and car hailing in Vietnam

At a press meeting last week, Go-Viet has announced plans to break into food delivery and car hailing, naming these services Go-Food and Go-Car, respectively. The firm, which is owned by Indonesia’s Go-Jek, currently offers motorbike hailing (Go-Bike) and consumer-to-consumer delivery (Go-Send) in Vietnam.

According to CEO Nguyen Vu Duc, Go-Car will be launched at the end of 2018, while Go-Food is slated to debut in November. Food delivery is a highly competitive market in Vietnam, with strong competitors such as Now.vn operated by Foody, Vietnammm or Grab Food by fellow ride-hailing firm Grab.

Research provider Euromonitor shows that Vietnam’s online food ordering market is growing at a dramatic rate. Market revenue is expected to reach $33 million in 2018 and $38 billion by 2020, at a compound annual growth rate of 11 per cent.

Go-Viet drivers on Vietnam's streets

When asked if Go-Viet wants to expand into business-to-consumer goods delivery (B2C), Nguyen Vu Duc admitted that this is a rather tough market for the firm. This is why Go-Viet will consider B2C only after it launches Go-Food, Go-Car, and an e-wallet service, he said.

“Goods delivery from businesses to consumers is now dominated by e-commerce heavyweights like Lazada, Tiki or Sendo, all of which have their own marketplace and partnerships with logistics services. Some vendors on these e-commerce sites offer delivery within two hours of purchase,” the CEO noted.

Go-Viet is also cautious when talking about fintech services. Its competitor Grab, after four years in Vietnam, now operates GrabPay, Grab Credits, and recently stroke a partnership with Moca, a domestic fintech startup.

Experts noted that ride-hailing apps like Grab and Go-Viet should collaborate with a Vietnamese fintech company to roll out e-wallet services, as local requirements remain strict and consumers must pay through a bank account, not directly within the app.

Nguyen Vu Duc said that Go-Viet is considering “various fintech options,” thus no concrete plan has been announced yet. In Indonesia, Go-Pay is the fourth largest e-wallet provider.

Go-Viet CEO Nguyen Vu Duc says the firm will become a "super-app" in Vietnam

In the long run, Go-Viet aspires to become a “super-app” that offers different kinds of hailing services, as well as payment and e-commerce. This is similar to what its parent company Go-Jek is doing in Indonesia, with 17 services from ticket purchases and grocery shopping to beauty services and car maintenance.

After almost four months of launching in Vietnam, Go-Viet said that it has scooped up 35 per cent of the market share for ride-hailing, threatening the dominance of Grab. Back in April, Grab assumed monopoly in the Vietnamese ride-hailing market after merging with Uber in Southeast Asia.

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