Helakuru, one of the largest tech platforms in Sri Lanka, is adding ride-hailing to its suite of services. In a social media post, Helakuru founder Dhanika Perera announced HelaGo, the latest venture amid the platform’s efforts to stack up its superapp ambitions.
Over the years, the company has outgrown its reputation as a keyboard app, with services extending to news, contactless payments, doctor channeling, and more recently, online payments to government services. However, Helakuru’s entry into the mobility space marks a significant departure from its usual offerings.
“We believe that ride-hailing in Sri Lanka should be fair and open, not price-controlled by algorithms or locked inside closed systems,” says Dhanika on why Helakuru is getting into the business. It remains to be seen how HelaGo will compete with the likes of PickMe, Uber, and Kangaroo. In the past, alternative ride-hailing apps have tried to usurp PickMe and Uber’s stronghold on the Sri Lankan market, though to no success.
Of course, Helakuru is bound to weigh most of its initial momentum on the goodwill and the millions of users. As of now, Helakuru hosts 4.4 million Sri Lankans daily, according to Dhanika. Whether that adds any meaningful competition in the long run will depend on how it solves existing issues, particularly how it answers the all too familiar question, “cash da? card da?”
HelaGo on Helakuru
The company has yet to reveal what HelaGo will look like for users. The service is set to launch soon on the Helakuru app with tuktuks, motorcycles, and cars as likely available options. The company’s official announcement indicates that long-distance and package deliveries may be under consideration, given the call for lorry and van drivers.
Either way, prospective drivers can now register for HelaGo via the Helakuru app. While passengers can access HelaGo via the main app, drivers will have a separate app. Dhanika says that over 500 drivers signed up for the service within three hours of making the announcement.
