Indonesian super app unicorn Gojek, in an effort to help the country combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, has recently acquired permission from Indonesia’s Healthy Ministry and its National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to bring in approximately 5 million face masks, which are to be allocated among the nation’s frontline healthcare providers and its driver-partners.
The latest shipment of masks will help to reinforce Gojek’s existing supply of health supplements, hand sanitizers and face masks for its fleet of driver-partners throughout more than eighty cities across the island archipelago nation.
The latest move by Gojek underscores the commitment and dedication that the unicorn company has towards maintaining the safety and well-being of its more than 3,000 employees and a fleet of 1 million drivers, and follows a previous move by the local ride-hailing super app’s senior management of cutting their salaries in order to allot more than US$6.9 million to their workers and driver-partners to deal with the uncertainties and economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Kevin Aluwi, co-chief executive officer of Gojek, the company strives to look after the welfare of their fleet of drivers and wishes to lighten their burden and help them feel more at ease about their future and day-to-day living during this time of economic uncertainty as a result of the outbreak.
Towards this end, drivers who fall ill due to the coronavirus or who become patients under treatment (PDP) are able to receive financial assistance from not just the unicorn company itself, but also Yayasan Anak Bangsa Kita, its newly formed charity foundation aimed at supporting the financial stability of its fleet of drivers and other partners.
According to a report, Gojek has experienced a more than 10 percent drop among its active ride-hailing users due to the COVID-19 pandemic within the end of March alone.
The distribution of face masks to its driver-partners and the country’s healthcare providers is just one step among many other measures that the unicorn company is adopting to help its employees and partners to combat the spread of the coronavirus and to ensure their safety and well-being.
Besides relaxing vehicle loan repayment requirements for its fleet of driver-partners, Gojek has also provided vouchers to younger drivers to look after their basic needs, while distributing basic necessities and staple goods to older and senior drivers aged more than sixty years old, in order for them to cope with the economic downturn as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Garibaldi Thohir, the independent commissioner of Gojek, recently announced that the latest import of face masks for its fleet of drivers is an important measure to make sure that the country’s supply of locally made masks and other medical gear is more than enough for the nation’s frontline healthcare providers and hospitals. The import of masks is a necessary precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as drivers are more at risk of contracting the coronavirus due to their daily interactions of making deliveries to many people.
The super app unicorn Gojek is taking proactive measures to ensure that the welfare of its fleet of driver-partners, both young and old, are well taken care of. As the homegrown company has shown, even in times of crisis the well-being and health of normal employees and workers should not be neglected.
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