Investing 70 million VND to make a video, the motorbike taxi driver earned many times more income

Mpo Bhabay, a full-time motorbike taxi driver for ride-hailing company Gojek, has amassed 250,000 followers through videos posted on the social media platform TikTok.

The content of the videos revolves around the 44-year-old woman sharing stories about her daily life. From the difficulties of being a driver, to the family situation of a mother with 9 children in Indonesian society... all are portrayed truthfully by Bhabay.

Đầu tư 70 triệu đồng làm video, anh xe ôm kiếm thu nhập gấp nhiều lần - 1 — Drivers create content by observing and posting what happens in their lives (Photo: Rest Of World).

In just about 3 years, Bhabay has gone from providing free advertising services to brands to now earning 3 million Rupiah (about 4.7 million VND) for each video.

That’s more than half a month’s minimum wage in urban Jakarta, where Bhabay lives. With up to four sponsored videos a month, she’s bought herself a house and almost paid off her debts. That’s a huge difference from the 50,000 Rupiah (about 78,000 VND) a day she earns as a driver.

Bhabay is just one example of a growing number of drivers who have become social media sensations. Across Southeast Asia, drivers are creating content on the TikTok platform, sometimes romanticizing everyday life, like touching encounters or passionate monologues on social issues.

These videos can reach millions of views, turning them into lucrative sponsorship and advertising deals for drivers.

“The reason why drivers’ videos are getting so much attention is because they’re so authentic,” said Jesse Bouman, CEO of Slice Group, an Indonesian tool developer. “They’re becoming entrepreneurs through content creation.”

Đầu tư 70 triệu đồng làm video, anh xe ôm kiếm thu nhập gấp nhiều lần - 2 — Social networks are a tool to help technology motorbike taxi drivers have an additional source of income (Photo: NLĐ).

Now, as ride-hailing companies around the world are seeing their revenues plummet, drivers like Bhabay face a choice between driving 12 hours a day to make ends meet or finding another job.

Creating content for TikTok has quickly become an accessible job for anyone with a smartphone. Drivers can come up with ideas while driving and delivering food, then spend time editing videos while waiting or in the evening.

In Vietnam, Grab driver Ha Van Cong (25 years old, living in Hanoi) invested 15 million VND in filming equipment, including a 360-degree camera. Two of Cong's videos have reached more than 1 million views.

Previously, Cong graduated from university with a degree in tourism. So the young man wanted to apply his hospitality skills and confidently communicate in English with passengers from Sri Lanka, Australia and Ireland.

Cong also played with Korean customers and the large number of enthusiastic Korean culture fans in Southeast Asia, using phrases learned from watching TV dramas from the land of kimchi.

Within just one month of joining TikTok, an advertising company offered to pay him VND750,000 to make a sponsored video about Grab's insurance products for drivers and passengers.

Đầu tư 70 triệu đồng làm video, anh xe ôm kiếm thu nhập gấp nhiều lần - 3 — In the context of declining income, drivers have to choose to do many jobs at the same time (Photo: Van Hien).

Driver Pham Van Manh (also from Hanoi) decided to invest 70 million VND in his content business by buying a 360-degree camera, a microphone and a MacBook computer. Manh drives a motorbike taxi every morning and comes up with content and storyboards. He then gives them to his colleagues to do the post-production.

Working in a group, Manh regularly releases videos every week. Manh's videos, which feature conversations with passengers, have attracted tens of thousands of views. This helps him earn 4 million VND for each sponsored video.

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