inDrive is rolling out in app advertising across its top 20 markets and expanding grocery delivery into Pakistan as it works to build new revenue streams beyond ride hailing while increasing how often users engage with its platform.
Shift Beyond Ride Hailing
The Mountain View based company has built its business on a peer to peer fare negotiation model that allows riders and drivers to agree on prices directly. That approach has helped it compete in price sensitive markets, but inDrive still operates in a crowded field alongside companies such as Uber as well as local transport options including taxis and autorickshaws. The company outlined a super app strategy last year aimed at adding higher frequency services such as groceries to support growth and reduce reliance on ride commissions.
Advertising is being launched across markets including Mexico, Colombia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and Morocco. Andries Smit, inDrive’s chief growth business officer, said mid 2025 tests generated hundreds of millions of impressions and attracted interest from global consumer brands and banks. He said the first phase of advertising will focus on placements inside the app, including during the wait after booking a ride and while passengers are travelling, when user attention is high. In car and on vehicle advertising remains part of a longer term plan, but inDrive is prioritising in app formats through 2026.
Grocery Expansion In Pakistan
The advertising rollout is tied to inDrive’s push into groceries, a category the company expects will drive higher engagement than ride hailing 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 an investment from inDrive in December 2024.
Smit said Pakistan combines rising demand for quick commerce with a large inDrive user base. Grocery retail in the country is highly fragmented, while urban households are increasingly using app based delivery. inDrive has also become one of the country’s leading mobility platforms, allowing it to cross sell groceries without high customer acquisition costs.
Since launching in Pakistan in 2021, ride volumes have risen nearly 40 percent year over year in 2025, while courier deliveries increased 67 percent in the first half of the year, according to company data. inDrive operates in more than 20 Pakistani cities for ride hailing and over 200 locations for intercity services, with strong usage in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
The grocery service will start in Karachi with delivery times of 20 to 30 minutes, before expanding to Lahore, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi later this year. Users will have access to more than 7,500 products including fresh produce, meat and dairy, snacks, and household goods. Orders above PKR 499, or about $2, will qualify for free delivery with no service fees.
Investment And Market Conditions
Pakistan has become a major focus of inDrive’s investment. Of the $100 million multi year program announced in late 2023, Smit said the largest share has gone to Pakistan and at least half of the total commitment has already been deployed.
Venture capital funding in Pakistan remains well below earlier peaks despite signs of recovery. Equity funding rose 63 percent year over year in 2025 to $36.6 million across 10 rounds, compared with $347 million in 2021 and $331 million in 2022, according to Data Darbar. Smit said inDrive is accustomed to operating in volatile markets and sees opportunity where other investors are cautious.
Scale And Revenue Mix
inDrive operates in 1,065 cities across 48 countries and has surpassed 360 million app downloads, making it the second most downloaded mobility app globally for the third year in a row, behind Uber. Advertising is expected to grow as grocery and delivery volumes increase, creating more chances for targeted promotions. Ride hailing accounted for about 95 percent of inDrive’s revenue a few years ago and now represents closer to 85 percent as newer services begin to contribute.
Over the next three to five years, the company expects groceries, delivery, advertising, and financial services to take on a larger role as it expands selectively across priority markets.
Featured image credits: Mordor Intelligence
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