GROWTH STRATEGY FOR A PLATFORM-BASED COMPANY NAIMI.KZ

Abstract

Naimi.kz is a platform-based company that provides diverse types of online on-demand services in Kazakhstan. Meetings with the company representatives drew us to the conclusion that Naimi.kz is a leading player in this field with a wide customer base. The purpose of this report was to consider the expansion of Naimi.kz domestically and internationally. We decided to start our research with internal analysis. Digital platforms such as Naimi.kz have to deal with common challenges in both domestic and international markets (e.g., high degree of network clustering, vulnerability to multi-homing, and high risks of disintermediation), and most of these challenges are likely to become aggravated when platforms expand internationally. Accordingly, we leveraged the available data on Kazakhstani market to first gain an in-depth understanding of Naimi.kz’s key vulnerabilities and corresponding strategies, which will not only be valuable for the company to strengthen its competitive position domestically but also essential for it to devise an appropriate growth strategy internationally. The company has got off to a good start, developed smoothly over the past 6 years and is currently running into a more intensive competitive landscape. Currently, there are many competitors in the market, some of which are internationally recognized, even if they are inferior to Naimi.kz in terms of the quality of services provided. According to the recent study by the “Brif Research Group” (2021) on 2,002 Kazakhstani people aged 18-55 throughout 14 regional centers and 3 cities of republican significance, Naimi.kz ranks third in terms of both the level of spontaneous awareness (20%), and level of knowledge with a hint (60%), well behind OLX and Market.kz. Additionally, the share of the actual regular users of Naimi.kz is much lower than the rate of awareness about the company—only 12% of the respondents use Naimi.kz compared to the 70% usage rate of OLX. So, these observations lead us to the research question—what would be a good growth strategy for Naimi.kz to succeed and become a market leader in the domestic and international markets? The internal analysis of the company as well as the analysis of the competitive landscape of the Kazakhstani market will be delineated below in the report and will help to answer the question in place.