Indrive, known for its proposal-based model, all over Asia and Latin America, is releasing a “Super-APP” strategy aimed at border markets-expanding beyond the cabins to provide daily key elements to its users.
Starting with grocery stores in Kazakhstan, Indrive plans to extend to multiple verticals over the next 12 months in its top markets, such as Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan, Peru and Mexico. The displacement comes in heels of more than 360 million applications and 6.5 billion trading worldwide, cement its position as Second app with the world’s most downloaded ride-haailingBehind Uber, from 2022.
“If your customers use more often, then, of course, they remain more, they are more valuable to the ecosystem, and they are more loyal overall,” said Andries Smit, head of the Indrive Development Business Officer, in an exclusive interview.
Indrive chose grocery stores as the first move of its expansion, after seeing the rapid increase in the delivery section-with more than 41 million orders completed worldwide in 2024 and over 14 million in the quarter of 2025-making one of its fastest categories.
Mountain View, based in California, launched the Kazakhstan Grocery Office service, offering over 5,000 products promising 15 minutes. The first pilots in the Central Asian country gave 83% pure promotion ratings – marking high customer satisfaction – and on average five grocery stores per month per month, the company said.
Smit told TechCrunch that Indrive is using a dark-shop model for Kazakhstan grocery stores, with most items focusing on ready-to-eat food and about 10% consisting of fresh-part products of a strategy to stimulate customer maintenance. He added that the model would vary in other areas, where the company is open in partnership at local level, especially in markets with a dense mom and pop shop.
Without sharing details, Smit said the company has added 30% more dark stores to the country than August.
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Why is Kazakhstan the first market?
Indrive now operates in 982 cities in 48 countries worldwide and leads to eight of them. But then why has he chosen Kazakhstan as the first market for the super application?
Smit told TechCrunch that the company decided to do so after seeing a “huge uppick” to consumers who are digitally digitally in the country, which is the largest economy in all of Central Asia. Indrive also has its largest staff in Kazakhstan, which serves as a central hub for its R&D and businesses.
Indrive did not reveal specific growth measurements for its activities in Kazakhstan. However, a recent report by Dealroom, published in collaboration with government TECH Park Astana Hub, famous That the company has seen a 44% increase in the country in the last 12 months.
The report also evaluated Kazakhstan’s technological ecosystem at $ 26 billion-one jumping 18 times since 2019-to teach a sharp increase in local formation, funding and digital services.
Kazakhstan already has grocery delivery applications to fulfill part of the demand. However, Indrive wants to win the market mainly by affordable pricing – with the aim of being the Aldi of online groceries.
“There is access and inequality, even issues of access to some of the groceries,” Smit said. “Some of our consumers who realize the costs ending not buying from the right places or not buying the right goods and recognize it, but they feel they have no choice.”
Super-APP of indrive: a differentiateer or déjà vu
Many companies have tried to succeed with super applications. While some, such as Wechat and Gojek, have found success, others – including meta – have struggled to win attraction.
Smit, who worked with WeChat in his previous role in 2016, has experienced how the integrated experience in Chinese application worked well. He told TechCrunch that, taking advantage of his know-how and using AI’s capabilities, Indrive plans to make Super-APP strategy successful. The integration of AI would help bring users to personalize and make services accessible to people with disabilities and people with lower education, he said.
In November 2023, Indrive announced a venture and ARM merger and acquisition to invest up to $ 100 million in the coming years. Smit told TechCrunch that from this venture, about 30% have already developed in the Super-APP strategy.
The company Invested in Pakistan’s grocery stores, Krave MartIn December as part of this venture. However, there is no specific timetable for when the indrive application will provide grocery stores to Pakistan users.
Arch Arch Arch Uber’s opponent has also expanded its service portfolio, adding vertical performances such as food delivery through Uber Eats in selected markets. Smit said the indive is aimed at a different client section – one that usually does not serve Uber – though there is some overlap in some areas.
“In general, we really support and play a consumer who has realized costs,” he said.
India as a “puzzle” market
In addition to border markets, including Kazakhstan, indrive operates in India for some time, competing with Uber as well as home players such as Ola and Rapido. However, the company has not received in the nation of South Asia. Uber even gave an edition of India’s India bids model, trying to reproduce the approach.
The data from Appfigures are shared exclusively with TechCrunch shows that Indrive Saw 1.07 million fewer downloads in a year compared to the same period in 2024-lowering 22.6%. In contrast, Uber added 8.02 million shots, increased by 60.6%, while OLA won 1.55 million, an increase of 13.2%. Rapido appeared as the fastest growing player, with 14.9 million additional downloads-an increase of 80.9%.
“India is a puzzle for us,” Smit told TechCrunch. “India is still growing and we are focused … We decided to focus very quickly on basic cities where we really think we want to work strongly.”
The company is testing different models, especially in the freight business, although it is known to allow riders to play with drivers. These include different payment mechanisms for drivers to be paid daily and even going at a specific interest rate, Smit said.
Indrive faced the first challenges and saw the limited success at the beginning-even in markets such as Pakistan, where later became the top platform left at the Uber exit.
“We had bed markets where the markets are drifting, and then for any case, perhaps one of the competitors is being trampled on,” Smit said.
More than twelve riders and drivers in India told TechCrunch that security concerns were a key reason they no longer prefer to use indrive. Some drivers said the application model had been exploited by riders – and, in some cases, even by colleagues who set up as riders to disturb their peers with aggressive homeland.
Smit said the company prioritizes security and customer service.
“Yes, we have to do a lot more to talk with this concept of security and the teaching and training of our drivers and passengers,” he said.
Subsequent verticals in designs
Indrive plans to expand the offering offering, launching new services tailored to the needs of the local market. Smit told TechCrunch that they could include financial services. An example is already alive in markets like Brazil and Mexico, where drivers can Access to small loans through the application. The company is exploring ways to extend this to passengers – and possibly small businesses involved in deliveries, the executive added.
The company also plans to explore a service that allows for micro-mobility, allowing its consumers to connect with local businesses and public transport services.
“We want to be experts in the city and could be a bouquet of different services,” Smit said. “We want to record the basic verticals we have capacity, that we know and are very close to our core … but if we do not have experience in running, for such services, we will surely work with the right player.”
