InDrive, known for its bidding-based ride-hailing model across Asia and Latin America, is rolling out a super-app strategy aimed at frontier markets. This expansion moves beyond cabs to deliver daily essentials to its users.
Beginning with grocery deliveries in Kazakhstan, InDrive plans to expand into multiple verticals over the next twelve months across its top markets, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan, Peru, and Mexico. This strategic shift follows more than 360 million app downloads and 6.5 billion transactions globally, cementing its position as the world’s second most-downloaded ride-hailing app behind Uber since 2022.
Andries Smit, chief growth business officer at InDrive, stated that increasing customer frequency of use leads to longer retention, higher value within the ecosystem, and greater overall loyalty.
InDrive selected grocery delivery for its first expansion after observing rapid growth in its delivery segment. The company completed over 41 million orders worldwide in 2024, with more than 14 million in the second quarter of 2025 alone, making it one of the fastest-scaling categories in its portfolio.
The Mountain View, California-based company has launched its grocery delivery service in Kazakhstan, offering over 5,000 products with a fifteen-minute delivery promise. Early pilots in the Central Asian country yielded a net promoter score of 83 percent, signaling high customer satisfaction, and an average of five grocery orders per user each month.
Smit explained that InDrive is using a dark store model for grocery deliveries in Kazakhstan. Most items are focused on ready-to-eat meals, with around ten percent consisting of fresh products, which is part of a strategy to boost customer retention. He added that the model will vary in other regions, where the company is open to partnering with local businesses, particularly in markets with a dense network of small independent stores. Without sharing specifics, Smit said the company has added thirty percent more dark stores in the country since August.
InDrive currently operates in 982 cities across 48 countries globally and leads in eight of them. The company chose Kazakhstan as the first market for its super-app move after observing a huge uptick in consumers going digital in the country, which is the largest economy in Central Asia. InDrive also has its largest headcount in Kazakhstan, which serves as a central hub for its research and development and operations.
InDrive did not disclose specific growth metrics for its operations in Kazakhstan. However, a recent report noted that the company saw a 44 percent growth in the country over the past twelve months. The report also valued Kazakhstan’s tech ecosystem at 26 billion dollars, an eighteen-fold jump since 2019, suggesting a sharp rise in local startup formation, funding, and digital services.
Kazakhstan already has grocery delivery apps to fulfill some of the demand. Nonetheless, InDrive aims to win the market predominantly with affordable pricing, striving to be the Aldi of online groceries. Smit noted that issues of access and inequality exist, with some cost-conscious consumers unable to buy from the right places or purchase the right goods, feeling they have no other choice.
Many companies have tried to succeed with super apps. While some, like WeChat and Gojek, have found success, others including Meta have struggled to gain traction. Smit, who worked with WeChat in a former role, experienced how the integrated experience on the Chinese app worked well. He stated that by leveraging his expertise and utilizing AI capabilities, InDrive plans to make its super-app strategy successful. The AI integration would help bring personalization to users and make services accessible to people with disabilities and those with lower literacy.
In November 2023, InDrive announced a venture and merger and acquisition arm to invest up to 100 million dollars over the next few years. Smit told TechCrunch that about thirty percent of that venture capital has already been deployed on the super-app strategy. The company invested in Pakistan’s grocery startup, Krave Mart, in December as part of that venture. However, there is no concrete timeline on when InDrive’s app will offer grocery deliveries to users in Pakistan.
InDrive’s arch-rival Uber has also expanded its service portfolio, adding verticals like food delivery through Uber Eats in select markets. Smit said InDrive targets a different customer segment, one that Uber typically does not serve, though there is some overlap in certain regions. He stated that the company really supports and plays into a cost-conscious consumer.
In addition to frontier markets including Kazakhstan, InDrive has been operating in India for some time, competing with Uber as well as homegrown players such as Ola and Rapido. However, the company has not picked up in the South Asian nation. Uber even piloted a version of InDrive’s bidding model in India, attempting to replicate the approach.
Data shows that InDrive saw 1.07 million fewer downloads year-to-date compared to the same period in 2024, a 22.6 percent decline. In contrast, Uber added 8.02 million downloads, up 60.6 percent, while Ola gained 1.55 million, a 13.2 percent increase. Rapido emerged as the fastest-growing player, with 14.9 million additional downloads, an 80.9 percent surge.
Smit described India as a puzzle for the company, noting that it is still growing and that InDrive has decided to focus quickly on key cities where it believes it can operate strongly. The company is testing different models, especially in the freight business. These include different payment mechanisms for drivers to get paid daily and even operate with a specific take rate.
InDrive faced early challenges and saw limited success at first, even in markets like Pakistan, where it later became the leading ride-hailing platform following Uber’s exit. Smit noted the company has had sleeper markets that drifted and then succeeded when a competitor faltered.
More than a dozen riders and drivers in India stated that safety concerns were a key reason they no longer prefer using InDrive. Some drivers said the app’s bidding model had been exploited by riders and, in some cases, by fellow drivers posing as riders to hassle their peers through aggressive haggling. Smit said the company prioritizes safety and customer service and acknowledges the need to do more to address safety perceptions and to educate both drivers and passengers.
InDrive plans to expand its super-app offering by launching new services tailored to local market needs. Smit said these could include financial services. One example is already live in markets including Brazil and Mexico, where drivers can access small loans through the ride-hailing app. The company is exploring ways to extend this to passengers and potentially to small businesses involved in deliveries.
The company also plans to explore a service that enables micro-mobility, allowing its consumers to connect with local businesses and public transportation services. Smit stated that the approach will be city-specific and could be a bouquet of different services. The goal is to capture key verticals that the company has capability for and that are close to its core. For services where it has no experience, InDrive will partner with the right player.