Despite a rebranding and four waves of COVID-19 over the past two years, Gojek Vietnam has grown its business significantly, a testament to the successful leadership and direction of its General Manager Phung Tuan Duc.

As part of its growth strategy, Gojek had planned to launch two key products in 2021 - GoCar, its 4-wheel ride-hailing service, and cashless payments. However, when the fourth wave of COVID-19 struck in the middle of last year and social distancing measures were implemented, all plans had to be deferred.

In August 2021, however, Gojek realized there was an unmet need for the transportation of frontline healthcare workers in HCM City amid the lockdown and enhanced mobility restrictions.

Realising it was a good opportunity for the company to contribute to the fight against the pandemic, the Gojek team moved quickly to launch the GoCar service. This included preparing accommodation for driver-partners and giving them additional training in health and safety protocols, as well as installing protective equipment in cars.

In just two weeks, GoCar was launched helping to transport frontline healthcare workers for free between COVID-19 intensive care units and their accommodation. With health and safety a priority, Gojek also decided to provide healthcare workers with complimentary access to GoCar Protect, GoCar’s premium service, which includes enhanced safety and hygiene features, for greater protection of users.

To further meet needs amid the pandemic, Gojek also launched a cashless payments feature during the lockdown, enabling users in Vietnam to pay for its transport and food delivery services via credit and debit cards. This was aimed at encouraging contactless payment, in line with the increased focus on health and hygiene.

An unwavering commitment to create positive social impact

As a result of the pandemic, people's consumption habits and behaviours have changed significantly.

A study by McKinsey on "Five COVID-19 aftershocks reshaping mobility’s future" found that while in the past, customers were mainly concerned about "time to destination", "convenience" and "space and privacy", the "risk of infection" has become the top concern since the pandemic began.

After surveying the local market and collecting user feedback during its initial launch, Gojek decided to expand GoCar Protect to the wider public in HCM City in mid November 2021 and in Hanoi in early January 2022.

With health and safety the top priority amid the pandemic, GoCar Protect gives added protection to users by including features that prevent potential virus spread.

All GoCar Protect driver-partners are guaranteed to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine - this information will be visible on the Gojek app when users book a trip. All cars will also be equipped with sanitizers, a transparent protective shield to separate driver-partners and riders as well as a SHARP air purifier which can neutralize up to 99.4% of airborne viruses. This makes GoCar the only four-wheel ride-hailing service in Vietnam to provide in-car air purifiers.

"We hope that prioritising the health and safety of users and driver-partners will become the new norm in the ride-hailing and public transport industries, both amid and beyond the pandemic," Duc said.

The challenges arising from the pandemic are what drove the Gojek team to launch the GoCar Protect service in the country.

Duc said, "At Gojek, we always say to each other, "Everything can change, but our business’ commitment will always stay the same." Our focus from day one has been to create positive social impact through our operations, and this commitment will always remain at the centre of everything we do."

Gojek is one of the few enterprises in Viet Nam that uses the "Creating Shared Value" (CSV) business model. A successful CSV strategy focuses on creating a positive impact on society, which in turn creates economic value for the business. This ultimately helps them to expand operations and have an even greater impact on the community. VNS