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2 ride-hailing firms team up against rivals

This article is more than 12 months old

Jugnoo leaving Singapore but helps Kardi with tech

Two ride-hailing companies that debuted after Uber's exit in Singapore are teaming up to compete more effectively against bigger rivals like Grab.

Jugnoo, which is headquartered in India, will shut down its Singapore app by the end of this month, but is linking up with locally founded Kardi by supplying its tech expertise and engineering support.

Jugnoo chief executive Samar Singla said: "We are giving the small guys the same tools as the bigger players like Uber and Grab, so they can compete without worrying about technology."

Jugnoo, which started in 2014 and specialises in auto-rickshaw rides in India, has 50 engineers involved in developing ride-hailing technology. Mr Singla said a team of five will be assigned to support Kardi.

They will continue to be based at Chandigarh in north India.

Through the partnership, Jugnoo will take a cut from Kardi's revenue, but both companies declined to say how much this would be.

Mr Singla told The Straits Times in a phone interview that Jugnoo, which launched here in May, faced the challenge of recruiting drivers locally while operating out of India.

"Kardi is trying to get off the ground. Our strength is in technology, and its strength is in operations... It's a logical match," Mr Singla said.

Kardi was rolled out in June by entrepreneur Ashwin Selambram. He said Jugnoo's engineers have helped to improve the accuracy of the map in the Kardi app, and will also help with a feature that automatically calculates any tolls incurred during a trip.

Under the tie-up, Kardi, which has about 2,000 drivers now, will also seek the consent of Jugnoo's drivers and riders in Singapore to migrate their details over to the Kardi app.

Mr Singla told ST that Jugnoo has about 500 drivers and 2,000 commuters in Singapore who are actively using its app.

After Uber's exit from South-east Asia in March, a slew of companies - Jugnoo, Kardi, Ryde, Filo and the Mass Vehicle Ledger Foundation - have entered the ride-hailing scene.

Mr Singla is confident that Kardi stands a fighting chance.

"Grab is charging 20 per cent in commissions from drivers because it has to give returns to its investors. That's a big pressure point," he said.

Kardi currently takes a 12 per cent cut from fares.

Transport