The author forgot to mention that Uber hasn't just left South-East Asia. It was officially acquired by Grab and got 27.5% stake in Grab in exchange[0]<p>Before leaving the market, Uber had a really intensive price war with Grab (for a few months I was getting SG$5 discounts for 5 rides a week by each company).<p>While one might argue that they could have stayed longer and expand their application into a super-app (like Gojek, ICBC or Wechat), it seems they preferred to instead invest in a local company that knows that market better. I think it's still too early to say whether it was a good decision, and definitely too early to say whether it was a mistake.<p>[0] <a href="https://thenextweb.com/asia/2018/03/26/ubers-southeast-asia-operations-acquired-by-grab/" rel="nofollow">https://thenextweb.com/asia/2018/03/26/ubers-southeast-asia-...</a>
Comparing multiples of minimum wage is one of the worst imaginable metrics because minimum wages mean very different things in different countries. The US minimum wage, relative to many less developed nations (which are all that is compared), is extremely high in terms of the purchasing power it provides. For instance the article mentions that in South Africa drivers earn 5.1x the minimum wage. But what does that mean? Well we can figure it out pretty easily!<p>The <i>recommended</i> minimum wage in South Africa is $173 per month. Of course things are cheaper in South Africa, so that doesn't tell you anything by itself. But we can use Purchasing Power Parity measurements to make it mean something! South Africa's PPP is 0.455 [1]. What that means is that a basket of goods worth $1 in America would cost $0.455 in South Africa. So we now can use about a 2.2x multipler to start ballparking buying power.<p>So 5.1x the minimum wage works out to 173 * 5.1 * 2.2 = $1,941 in US dollar equivalent purchasing power per month. Now let's assume full time work of a basic 40 hour week to get this into an hourly rate. $1,941 / 160 = $12.13. Lo and behold, their "5.1x the minimum wage" works out to almost an identical market rate for drivers as in the US. They earn about $0.20 less per hour, in adjusted spending power, than they'd earn in the US. Whenever a datum leaves you wondering what it <i>really</i> means, it's often one that's been chosen to present a sensationalized image to what's often a pretty boring reality.<p>[1] - <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPPC.RF?locations=ZA" rel="nofollow">https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPPC.RF?location...</a>
Is anyone aware of recent arguments and discussions on the topic of superapps in western markets? I was curious about this after reading the above article, but a quick google only surfaced articles with not-too-compelling arguments[1].<p>FB trying to merge many messaging apps seems similar, but for only one service (messaging), and Uber has a credit card, Eats, and transport but they are more of an app constellation than a super app (perhaps a super app from the driver side, but am curious about consumer case in western markets).<p>[1] <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/michelleevans1/2018/03/21/four-reasons-why-super-apps-like-wechat-would-struggle-in-the-us/amp/" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/michelleev...</a>
Neither of those apps are profitable yet. Even if there was a huge opportunity there, Uber didn't have the cultural understanding necessary to execute well, and didn't have the funds to fight a global war of attrition with every other ride-hailing company.
Great ‘demo’ of how Gojek sees their future: <a href="https://www.gojek.io/superapp/" rel="nofollow">https://www.gojek.io/superapp/</a>
The go-to transportation method differs across Southeast-Asian countries.<p>Thailand: Grab (car)<p>Cambodia: Pass (tuk Tuk)<p>Vietnam: Grab (motorbike)<p>Indonesia: Go-Jek (bike)<p>Singapore: Grab (car)<p>Every few months, a new competitor seems to pop-up in every major city.
Shameless corporate plug: I am a Grab engineer, we are hiring like crazy right now. We hire engineers in USA (Bellevue WA and Seattle), China (Beijing), Singapore, Vietnam (HCM City), Indonesia (Jakarta), India (Bangalore) and I probably forgot some.<p>See <a href="https://grab.careers" rel="nofollow">https://grab.careers</a>
Living in SEA, I really enjoyed having the option of both Uber and Grab as it was easy to compare prices, and sometimes get a taxi for cheaper.<p>Now I use Grab as a price gauge and usually haggle a taxi for lower if he doesn't want to use a meter. Can usually always get a taxi cheaper, GrabBike is the only thing that beats it.