JAKARTA (Reuters) – At a makeshift kiosk outdoors her house in a South Jakarta backstreet, 39-year-old Julaiha stands on the entrance traces of a multi-billion-dollar battle over one of many richest alternatives within the world digital economic system. Gojek driver helmets are seen throughout Go-Food competition in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 27, 2018. Picture taken October 27, 2018. REUTERS/BeawihartaAlong with items akin to prompt noodles and cigarettes, she sells insurance coverage and affords a service to pay utility payments. Though Julaiha has by no means had a checking account, she might help prospects apply for small loans or order merchandise from the web. Julaiha, who makes use of just one identify, final 12 months eagerly grew to become an agent for Singapore-based Grab, an organization often called the Uber of Southeast Asia for its ride-hailing service. Her husband, a motorcycle-taxi driver, additionally works for Grab. “I used to have work hard in a shop,” Julaiha mentioned. “Now I work at home, press the phone, and earn money.” Their recruitment is a part of Grab’s efforts to muscle in on Indonesia – the house of rival Go-Jek – because the companies vie to carry banking, e-commerce, ride-hailing, food-delivery and different providers to each nook of Southeast Asia. The objective is to develop into the indispensable “super-app” for international locations with a collective inhabitants of over 650 million, with probably the most fiercely contested entrance now shifting away from their roots in ride-hailing to monetary providers. “The majority of people in Southeast Asia don’t have bank accounts,” mentioned Jixun Foo, managing companion for GGV Ventures and an early Grab backer. “It’s a massive opportunity.” The land-grab has attracted billions in funding from marquee names. Backers for Grab embody SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Uber, whose Southeast Asia enterprise it acquired in March. Go-Jek’s nook options Google (GOOGL.O), Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), JD.com Inc (JD.O) and KKR & Co (KKR.N). (For a graphic on investments in ride-hailing companies click on right here: tmsnrt.rs/2OghNFf) The companies’ similarities are placing. Both have been based a 12 months aside as journey service firms: Grab as a taxi-booking app in Malaysia whereas Go-Jek organized an off-the-cuff sector of bike taxis – a key option to get round Jakarta, a mega-city with no metro system and epic visitors jams. With cut-rate costs that made their providers accessible in low-income international locations, they rapidly gained hundreds of thousands of customers. Both are even led by mates – Go-Jek CEO Nadiem Makarim went to Harvard Business School alongside Grab co-founders Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling. Grab is the larger regional participant, valued at round $11 billion at its final funding spherical in August, sources with data of the matter have mentioned. Separate sources put Go-Jek’s valuation between $9 billion and $10 billion. Each agency is conducting a brand new funding spherical, the sources mentioned. The companies have declined to publicly disclose funding and valuation particulars. (Graphic on ride-hailing companies: tmsnrt.rs/2OghNFf) Slideshow (5 Images)TWO DEALS PAVE GRAB’S WAY Indonesia accounts for greater than a 3rd of Southeast Asia’s inhabitants and Grab, declaring the market a precedence, has been aggressive – buying startup Kudo and its community of 1.7 million brokers that now contains Julaiha. It has additionally partnered with fintech agency OVO, owned by Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group, whose huge mall holdings have helped make OVO’s smartphone cost system a ubiquitous presence at procuring facilities and restaurant chains. With OVO’s assist, Grab intends to carry a “full range of financial services, including micro lending, insurance, and savings to Indonesia,” mentioned Grab Financial Managing Director Reuben Lai. Grab has additionally taken an fairness stake in OVO, in line with a supply with direct data of the matter, declining to be recognized because the stake has but to be publicly introduced. The firms declined to touch upon funding particulars. The Kudo and OVO offers have thrust Grab right into a place to grab Indonesian market share away from Go-Jek, though the incumbent home super-app is presently considered by analysts as having a big edge. Go-Jek boasts 108 million app downloads to this point and 50 p.c of Go-Jek customers use its funds service Go-Pay, which it says is the nation’s hottest e-wallet. OVO has in distinction 60 million downloads, however claims to be Indonesia’s main platform by whole funds quantity as a result of increased quantities paid by wealthier prospects at restaurant chains the place it’s used. A HUMAN EDGE Others looking for to money in on Southeast Asia’s new digital economic system embody China’s Alibaba (BABA.N), which is making its push in monetary providers by way of its Ant Financial affiliate and controls e-commerce website Lazada. Tencent is selling its WeChat super-app and can be lively in e-commerce and gaming. The area is large enough for a lot of gamers to have their share. But Go-Jek and Grab are anticipated to be arduous to beat with the familiarity and belief constructed up by their ride-hailing providers and maybe surprisingly in a digital age, their human brokers. The brokers can introduce these with no banking expertise – estimated at roughly two-thirds of Indonesia’s inhabitants – to monetary providers whereas additionally appearing as facilities for patrons to order and decide up their e-commerce purchases. Like Grab, Go-Jek is a fan of husband and spouse groups that break up the motive force and agent roles, and following Grab’s lead, it moved to develop is agent community final 12 months with the acquisition of startup Mapan. The community consists of 180,000 neighborhood leaders who run casual teams that assist working class households purchase family home equipment and whose shoppers quantity 2 million. “Housewives told us they had no option for credit and couldn’t afford most things,” mentioned Aldi Haryopratomo, Mapan’s founder and now CEO of Go-Jek’s Go-Pay unit. Outside Indonesia, Grab has the higher hand. The area’s greatest ride-hailing agency serving eight markets, it began on the “super-app” path solely final 12 months however rapidly constructed a variety of providers. Grab affords smartphone cost “wallets” in partnership with banks or fintech companies in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and has with one within the works in Thailand. Kudo can be increasing to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore. Go-Jek too is beginning to foray into Grab’s turf. While it doesn’t have similar variety of partnerships, it this month introduced a tie-up with DBS Group Holdings (DBSM.SI), Southeast Asia’s largest lender, for monetary providers. It debuted its app in Vietnam in September, in Singapore this week and plans to develop to Thailand in December. Reporting by Cindy Silviana and Fanny Potkin in Jakarta; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi, Jessica Damiana in Jakarta and Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Writing by Fanny Potkin; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edwina GibbsOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.