Uber a good brand, but its products not tuned to Indian customers’ needs: Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal

While Uber is a good brand with good products, competitor Ola’s Co-Founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal feels it trails in India because its products are not tuned to the needs of the Indian consumer. “Ola has a huge market leadership, which we are increasing as we go along because we are building an Indian product for the Indian masses. Uber is a good company and a well known brand worldwide, but their product is for the Western market and not for India. That reflects in their market share,” says Aggarwal.According to a recent statement, Ola controls 80 per cent of India’s taxi-hailing business, and completes more than 7,50,000 rides per day.
According to Aggarwal, over the last year Ola has grown 30 times, and will grow from 10 cities to about 200 cities by the end of this year. “There are huge opportunities and even in smaller cities, people need urban mobility solutions. In smaller cities, the infrastructure is lacking and there is no concept of local transport. However, there are a lot of people who want to get around the city,” says Aggarwal.

The massive private fund raising rounds Ola has embarked on since last year have fuelled its growth. After successfully closing the recent funding round that saw China’s most popular ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi invest in Ola, these fundraising rounds are likely to continue for some more time as Aggarwal says the company has no plans to tap the capital market and an IPO is still some years away.

“We are a young company that has been in this space for only four years and is growing aggressively. We are focused on growth and not on an IPO. At the right time it will make a lot of sense, but that is still a few years away,” says Aggarwal