InDrive takes big super app gamble with global south expansion plans

InDrive is shifting beyond rides with a new “super-app” plan. The rollout starts with grocery delivery in Kazakhstan and will add more services over the next 12 months in Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan, Peru and Mexico.

The California-based firm says the push builds on more than 360 million app downloads and 6.5 billion transactions worldwide, keeping it the world’s second most-downloaded ride-hailing app since 2022, behind Uber.

“If customers use you more frequently, then, of course, they stay longer, they’re more valuable in the ecosystem, and they’re just more loyal overall,” said Andries Smit, chief growth business officer at InDrive, in an interview with TechCrunch.

Groceries come first because delivery has been growing fast. The company counted over 41 million delivery orders in 2024 and more than 14 million in Q2 2025, making deliveries one of its quickest-scaling lines.

In Kazakhstan, the grocery service lists more than 5,000 items and promises delivery in 15 minutes. Pilot runs produced a net promoter score of 83% and an average of five grocery purchases per user each month, according to the company.

InDrive grows dark store network by 30% in Kazakhstan

Smit said Kazakhstan is using a dark-store setup.

Most inventory is ready-to-eat food, with roughly 10% fresh goods, a mix meant to drive repeat usage. He added that the format will differ by market, with local tie-ups likely where small neighborhood shops are common. Without giving totals, Smit said InDrive has increased its dark-store count in the country by 30% since August.

Although InDrive serves 982 cities in 48 countries and leads in eight of them, the super-app debut lands in Kazakhstan. Smit pointed to a “huge uptick” in digital adoption in the region, the biggest economy in Central Asia, and noted that InDrive’s largest employee base is also there, where it runs R&D and operations.

While it did not share local KPIs, a Dealroom report with Astana Hub said the company’s activity in Kazakhstan grew 44% in the last 12 months. The same report valued the national tech ecosystem at $26 billion, an 18-fold rise since 2019.

Homegrown grocery apps already serve Kazakh shoppers, but InDrive plans to compete mainly on price, aiming to be the Aldi of online groceries.

“There is access and inequality, and even access issues with some of the groceries,” said Smit. “Some of our cost-conscious consumers end up not buying from the right places or not buying the right goods, and they recognize that, but they feel they have no other choice.”

WeChat lessons and AI tools shape InDrive’s super-app strategy

WeChat and Gojek are known successes. Others, such as Meta’s attempts, have struggled. Smit, who worked with WeChat in 2016, said the team will use that background and bring AI into the app to tailor services and improve accessibility for people with disabilities and users with lower literacy.

Uber, a key rival, has also broadened its offerings with Uber Eats in some markets. Smit said InDrive focuses more on value-seeking users, though there is some overlap. “By and large, we really support and play into a cost-conscious consumer,” he said.

“India is a puzzle for us,” Smit said. The company is narrowing its focus to priority cities and is testing freight models, daily driver payouts and a defined take rate.

Smit said the company had a slow start in several places, including Pakistan, where it later became the top ride-hailing player after Uber exited. “We’ve had sleeper markets where the markets sort of drifted, and then for whatever case, maybe one of the competitors falters,” he said.

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