Enhancing Neighbourhood Management through Digitalization
Developed by Red Ideas Holdings Bhd, The Graaab Jaga app is built upon three main pillars namely security, communication and convenience.
In 2013, one of the founders, David Foo faced an inconvenience at the condominium building he was residing at triggered an idea for the Jaga app platform. “I urgently needed to go to the bank one day when the lifts of my condominium were out of order and residents were not informed,” he says.
After walking down 18 floors that day, Foo shared his frustration with Ignatius Ho, his long-time friend and another founder of Jaga app. Deciding that they should come up with an app to make their lives easier, Foo says “We thought there should be a better way to disseminate information. Since safety is also a major concern among Malaysians, we also wanted to promote a safer neighbourhood.”
From the initial idea, Ho says it took two years and a large initial investment to develop the Graaab platform. “We took a long time to have our idea materialise into something we could sell and eventually registered the app in December 2015.”
Growing across Malaysia
Following this, the company started selling its solution towards the end of the first quarter of 2016. The company has listed on the LEAP Market of Bursa Malaysia in November 2017 and raised RM7 million for a 20% issuance of new shares.
“Currently, our Graaab Jaga app is used in 210 neighbourhoods across the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We started off with only about five customers in the first six months and have since grown.” The main area of user concentration is the Klang Valley which constitutes 80% while Penang’s user base is around the 10% mark.
Three core elements
Sharing the details of the app, the founders say that the general public often associates the platform mainly with security, especially since ‘Jaga’ in the Malay language means security guard. “It is important to note that the three elements of convenience, communication and security are present in every feature we create.”
Once downloaded, the app provides access to community forms for the booking of facilities, intercom and even an emergency button feature. In terms of visitor management, it does away with the need for a residential intercom phone system. Instead, the resident is able to issue QR codes to visitors for scanning at the entry point.
Access to the app is only available by invitation if you reside in a neighbourhood that subscribes to Graaab. Currently, neighbourhoods are charged a flat fee of RM600 per month for each entry control point.
While the most used part of the app is visitor management, the app has a comprehensive and functional menu for residents to use facilities and services available in the neighbourhood. “Myservices in the app allows you to book vendors such as cleaners, carwash, dog walkers and repairmen,” Ho shares.
Sharing more details of the services of vendors, Ho says “We work with third party companies who do the vetting for the individual service providers. Once a resident books a service, our concierge team facilitates the booking process and obtains feedback after the service is rendered.”
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