Global mobility and urban services platform inDrive, which has emerged as a major app cab service provider in Calcutta, has set its sights on profitable growth as it looks to scale up its offerings and build a “super app”.
Launched in 2018 in India and operating in 13 cities at present, the rideshare company is experiencing a surge in the number of cars and users on the platform. Unlike its competitors who often go big on financial incentives and advertisement to lure drivers and customers to their platform, inDrive has so far banked on word-of-mouth to gain traction.
Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph in her first visit to Calcutta, chief growth officer of inDrive, Evgenia Matrosova offered cues on how the company looks at the Indian market and the platform’s plans to offer more to the consumer on the app.
“Growth in customer and driver acquisitions has been around 15 per cent and 50 per cent respectively year on year. We hope to sustain this growth in India in the coming years. We are looking to expand to 2-3 new cities in India. We have a strong presence in Chandigarh and Calcutta, where we are seeing 30 per cent growth in rides and 40 per cent growth in driver acquisition year on year,” Matrosova said, with inDrive’s country manager in India Pratip Mazumder, by her side.
The app cab market in the country is estimated at around 12-13 million trips a day and growing at around 7-10 per cent.
“The market is really competitive and our competitors are investing as well. But we aim for sustainable growth and profitability. Our model is unique and fair. We have the lowest commission which means there is more earnings for the drivers while offering the choice of prices for the passengers also,” said Matrosova, who is based out of Cyprus.
Founded by tech entrepreneur Arsen Tomsky, inDrive is operating in 888 cities in 48 countries inDrive has already reached a leadership position in markets such as Peru, Columbia, Egypt, Pakistan and is close to becoming a leader in Nepal. The Mountain View, California headquartered company was the second most downloaded ride-hailing app globally last year.
Despite the rapid expansion, inDrive is looking to grow profitably everywhere It operates.
“India is a very demanding market where people are looking for a great product with the lowest price and discounts and with great customer support. It takes time. But the opportunity is so big that everyone wants to invest. In India, EBIT-level profitability has still not been achieved by any app-based ride-hailing companies. But we can see the visibility of profitability in the next couple of years and that’s why we are excited to stay invested in the country,” Mazumder said.
“There are two ways to grow – grow in new cities and also grow in the cities where we are already present. We are more focussed on optimising the current cities where are operate,” Mazumder added.
Expanding services
While ridesharing is the big draw, inDrive is looking to foray into grocery delivery and financial services in the markets where it is present.
“We are also looking at offering services beyond mobility and working on to build
a super-app in the coming years which will include services like food delivery and financial services,” Matrosova disclosed.
The company has taken stakes in dark stores in markets such as Kazakhstan and Pakistan for grocery delivery. “We want to start these in markets where we have clear market leadership and a large consumer base and if the model proves, we will consider expanding in other markets as well,” she added.
Other than cab rides, inDrive currently offers services such as freight movement, courier services and outstation rides and parcel deliveries.
“Under inDrive money, we are offering driver loans in a few countries and we will look to test this in India in future,” the chief growth officer informed.
