“Are You Building a Super App or a Super Mess?”
Time for an honest admission before the next product launch
Why most Super App dreams crash despite good tech and how vision, discipline, and ecosystem clarity separate GPay from ‘just another app’?
Let’s dissect why :
1. Product ≠ Platform
Many players confuse a product with many services for a platform that binds ecosystems A true Super App orchestrates VALUE across services, BUILDS identity, and offers SEAMLESS ecosystem flow
Careem expanded HORIZONTALLY — ride-hailing, payments, groceries, even home cleaning
Talabat had VERTICAL focus: food delivery first then added cloud kitchen, grocery, fast mart and pharmacy
Without orchestrated data, identity, and service unification, you’re just running several mini-products under one brand. Not a Super App
2. “PR First” Playbook Backfires
Glitzy launch video -> App installs spike -> Usage drops in 3 weeks
Retain users in multi-service apps is a content, service and habit game.
Not a PR sprint
3. Big Tech wins because:
i. Embedded at OS level
ii. Have billions in data context
iii. Partnered with governments + banks
4. Leadership Without Platform DNA
Super App strategy is not just product stacking. It’s a leadership mindset:
“Do we want to own the flow, or just offer the buttons?”
Etisalat and Noon have tried without seamless integration, service excellence & cross-subsidized engagement
What Worked (And Why):
a. Talabat (UAE): Build vertically in customer’s mind first you venture horizontally
b. MTN MoMo (Africa): Telecom-led financial Super App model — banking the unbanked, then layering insurance, microloans, utility payments. Why? Telcos knew distribution nuances
c. DBS (Singapore): Didn’t build one app with 10 features. Instead, built 10 use cases that stitched into customer life, from wealth to payments to rewards — all powered by an invisible AI core.
Why Most GCC & Asian Super App Ambitions Die Young:
a. Lack of a North Star: Repeatability matters
b. “Yes-man” product teams — afraid to kill weak features
c. Over-index on investor buzz, under-invest in user experience
d. Absence of infra-scale partners (logistics, payments, ID verification, etc.)
e. Promoter ego > Product-market fit
So, How to Turn the Myth into Reality?
a. Start with a Core Hook Dominate one need-state mobility/payment/commerce before layering
b. Design for Daily Use, Not Vanity Metrics Habit > App installs
c. Partnerships Win, Not Features Think ecosystem: telcos, banks, ID systems, logistics players You don’t build a Super App alone
d. Hard Reset the Org Culture Build for NPS, LTV and retention – not just go-lives
e. Respect Local DNA West Asia ≠ GCC ≠ North Africa Geo-tuned models matter
Final Take:
The next Super App won’t be the flashiest
It’ll be the one that:
i. Understands distribution
ii. Masters platform dynamics i
ii. Has a leadership team obsessed with customer journeys, not just investor decks
Until then Super App is… Super Premature
