InDrive turns to advertising and groceries to diversify revenue

Known for its bid-based approach to pricing, inDrive It is deepening its endeavors beyond ride-hailing services by rolling out ads in its top 20 markets and expanding its grocery delivery reach to Pakistan, executing at scale. The “super-enforcement” strategy was outlined last year To build new revenue streams and enhance engagement while maintaining growth in price-sensitive markets.

The latest move by the Mountain View, California-headquartered company comes as ride-hailing platforms face intense competition and lower profit margins across emerging markets, prompting companies to look beyond transportation for growth. Ads provide a high revenue stream that grows with usage, while grocery delivery increases the number of times users open the app. This combination could help inDrive reduce its reliance on ride commissions while strengthening its core mobility business.

InDrive has built its position on affordability, using a peer-to-peer negotiation model that allows riders and drivers to agree on rates directly rather than relying on fixed rates. However, it operates in a crowded market alongside global players like Uber and local micromobility options including taxis and rickshaws, which has prompted the company to look beyond rides alone. This backdrop has shaped NDrive’s “super app” strategy, which aims to add higher-frequency services such as grocery delivery in frontier and emerging markets.

The ad is running on inDrive in markets including Mexico, Colombia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Egypt and Morocco. The rollout follows mid-2025 tests that generated hundreds of millions of impressions and attracted interest from global consumer brands and banks, Anders Smit, inDrive’s chief growth business officer, said in an interview.

Smit told TechCrunch that the advertising business will initially focus on in-app placements, including during the waiting period after booking a flight and while passengers are en route, moments that generate high engagement and ongoing interest.

In-vehicle and in-vehicle advertising are part of the long-term roadmap. However, Smit said inDrive plans to prioritize in-app formats through 2026, citing operational complexity around in-car advertising in emerging markets and stronger early returns from digital placements.

Pakistan, the next big market for inDrive’s ‘super app’ game

The focus on in-app advertising aligns with inDrive’s push into grocery stores, a higher-frequency use case where the company expects to generate stronger ad engagement and demand than trips alone. InDrive is expanding grocery delivery in Pakistan, its second market after Kazakhstan, through a partnership with local dark store operator Krave Mart, which Received investment From inDrive in December 2024.

Pakistan stands out in this regard due to a combination of growing demand for express commerce and InDrive’s own scope in the market, Smit said. Grocery retail remains fragmented and largely informal, while urban consumers are increasingly turning to app-based delivery as more families juggle work and family responsibilities. At the same time, inDrive has emerged as one of the country’s leading mobility platforms, giving it a large, engaged user base for selling groceries without the high customer acquisition costs that have affected many quick commerce startups.

Since its launch in 2021, inDrive has steadily expanded its presence in Pakistan, with ride volumes rising nearly 40% year-on-year in 2025, while deliveries through courier services grew 67% in the first half of the year, according to company data shared with TechCrunch. The company considers Pakistan one of its fastest growing markets globally, with particularly high usage in major cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Overall, inDrive operates passenger transportation services in more than 20 Pakistani cities and intercity services across more than 200 locations.

The rollout of InDrive grocery products in Pakistan will begin in Karachi, the country’s largest city and one of the company’s strongest markets, where users will be able to order daily essentials through the app with delivery times of approximately 20 to 30 minutes. The service will then expand to other major cities, including Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, later this year as inDrive builds supplies and logistics with Krave Mart. The platform plans to offer more than 7,500 products – including fresh produce, meat, dairy, snacks and household items – along with free delivery for orders above PKR 499 (about $2) with no service charges.

In addition to its rapid growth as a ride-hailing market, Pakistan has also emerged as a focal point for capital deployment for inDrive. From the company Multi-year investment program worth $100 million Announced in late 2023, Smit said the largest share so far has been directed towards Pakistan, though he declined to reveal specific numbers. He added that at least half of the total commitment of $100 million has already been deployed.

“We see amazing potential in Pakistan,” Smit said. “Ideally, we want to continue and double down (investments) when we see performance.”

InDrive’s increased focus on Pakistan comes despite broader investor caution towards the market. Venture capital and general investors have largely remained on the sidelines amid geopolitical and macroeconomic risks, even as activity shows signs of recovery. Equity funding in Pakistan rose 63% year-on-year in 2025 to reach $36.6 million across 10 rounds, according to a recent report by Karachi-based startup analysis firm Data Darbar. Much less than $347 million And $331 million was raised in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

However, the gap between investor caution and on-the-ground demand is precisely where InDrive sees an opportunity. Having worked in dozens of emerging markets, Smit said the company is more accustomed to volatility and less reliant on changing capital market sentiment, which gives it the confidence to invest where others hesitate. With an established local business and a large active user base, he noted that inDrive can also help partners expand without spending large sums on customer acquisition — a feature that becomes especially valuable when outside funding is scarce.

InDrive’s orientation toward advertising and commerce is broadly based. The company operates in 1,065 cities in 48 countries and has surpassed 360 million app downloads, making it the second most downloaded mobility app in the world for the third year in a row, behind Uber, according to company data.

Looking ahead, inDrive expects advertising to become a more important contributor in the medium term, particularly as grocery and delivery volumes grow and create more opportunities for contextual promotions. Ride-hailing services, which accounted for about 95% of inDrive’s revenue just a few years ago, are now closer to 85%, even as the core business continues to grow, reflecting how newer segments are beginning to expand.

Grocery, delivery, advertising and eventually financial services are expected to play a larger role over the next three to five years as the company expands selectively across priority markets, Smit said.