Pathao: The Charioteer of Digital Bangladesh's Journey

The story of starting from a simple logistics service to becoming one of the country's leading 'superapps'.

>10M

Registered Users

>500k

Jobs Created

>80k

Business Partners

The Journey of Pathao

2015

Starting with Logistics

1. Inception: Pathao began its journey as a delivery service for e-commerce businesses.

2. Operation: Initially operated through a Facebook group with a small fleet of motorcycles.

3. Goal: To meet the logistics demands of the growing e-commerce sector.

2016

Entering Ride-Sharing

1. Market Analysis: Identified Dhaka's traffic congestion and public transport crisis as a major opportunity.

2. New Service: Pathao launched its motorcycle ride-sharing service in Dhaka through its official app.

3. Impact: This move brought a revolutionary change to the city's transportation system.

2018

Diversification and Expansion

1. New Services: Launched Pathao Cars, Pathao Food (food delivery), and Parcel services.

2. International Journey: Entered the international market for the first time by launching services in Nepal.

3. Goal: To move towards creating an integrated platform.

2020+

On the Path to a Superapp

1. New Additions: Added more services like Pathao Shop, Pharma, and Tong to the platform.

2. Ecosystem Building: Created a complete ecosystem by adding the 'Pathao Pay' payment system and 'Pathao Points' loyalty program.

3. Current Position: Pathao has now solidified its position as an essential 'superapp' for the daily needs of the people of Bangladesh.

The Pathao Ecosystem: How It Works

Pathao integrates its various services into a single app to meet the daily needs of millions of people.

🏍️Pathao Bike/Car

Set your destination, request a ride, and track your driver in real-time.

🍔Pathao Food

Order food from local restaurants and get it delivered to your doorstep.

📦Pathao Parcel

Send any type of parcel within the city quickly and reliably.

🚚Pathao Courier

Nationwide product delivery facility with cash-on-delivery for businesses.

🛒Pathao Shop

Buy groceries, electronics, and fashion products and get fast delivery.

💊Pathao Pharma

Get home delivery of medicines by uploading a prescription or ordering from a list.

Pathao's Technological Foundation

Transforming from a single monolithic application to a powerful microservices architecture, Pathao handles millions of transactions daily.

Architecture

Evolved into a Microservices Architecture to handle high traffic and ensure service independence.

Backend Services

Primarily uses Go (Golang) and Java to ensure high performance for real-time services.

Database Layer

A mix of databases: PostgreSQL for relational data and ScyllaDB (NoSQL) for high-throughput services.

Communication

Uses Apache Kafka for asynchronous communication between microservices.

Cloud & DevOps

Hosted on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and managed by Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).

Frontend

Native mobile apps for the best user experience: Kotlin/Java for Android and Swift for iOS.

Data Strategy: The Driving Force of Pathao

Pathao uses an advanced data strategy to optimize its operations, enhance user experience, and combat fraud.

Data Engineering Stack

Ingestion: Apache Kafka for real-time event streaming.
Processing: Apache Spark and Flink for large-scale data processing.
Warehousing: Google BigQuery as the central data warehouse for integrated analysis.

Fraud Detection

Real-time Monitoring: The system detects suspicious activities like fake GPS usage, promotion abuse, and fraudulent transactions.
Machine Learning Models: Used to identify fraud patterns and automatically flag or block offenders.

Analytics & Insights

Business Intelligence: Uses tools like Metabase and Tableau to create dashboards and reports for data-driven decision-making.
Personalization: Data insights are used to personalize the user experience.

Position in a Competitive Market

Ride-Sharing Market

Pathao is a leader in bike-sharing, a major advantage in Dhaka's traffic. It faces intense competition from Uber.

Food Delivery Market Share

While Foodpanda is dominant, Pathao maintains a significant position by focusing on its local network and profitability.

Pathao's Strategic Strength

Despite strong competitors in every sector, Pathao's core strength lies in its integrated ecosystem and deep understanding of the local market. Its own logistics network, motorcycle-centric services, and the ability to continuously add new services according to user demand are what set Pathao apart from the rest.

Pathao: The Digital Superapp of Bangladesh - A Market Study