Parking startup KERB may have first hit the road in Brisbane, but it was built to be global from day one. In fact, founder Rob Brown knew Australia wasn’t the right market for early success.
KERB is live in Malaysia and the Philippines. The company is working on a proof-of-concept project with Kuching International Airport in Malaysia, to manage the entirety of its parking operations.
‘That’s going to be really massive – thousands of cars a day,’ says Harriet Lowrie, KERB’s Chief Operations Officer. ‘If the project goes well, there’s the opportunity to expand into other airports across Malaysia. We’re hoping this will be a landmark use case for KERB in Malaysia and the world.’
KERB is soon launching in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. According to Lowrie, the company’s growth is at least partly thanks to the Landing Pads program and Austrade, who have been there every step of the way.
Parking made easy
KERB is a parking management platform that helps property owners make good use of their parking lots, while getting vehicles off the roadside.
‘The business was originally conceived as a P2P platform, or “the Airbnb of parking”,’ Lowrie says.
Within about a month, however, it became clear there was demand from businesses, too – owners of buildings with huge, mostly empty parking lots.
‘KERB was founded on the premise that there is so much under-utilised parking space in a city. It just needs to be unlocked,’ Lowrie says.
Some 30% of urban traffic is made up of people looking for parking. Unlocking these spaces not only reduces pressure on the kerbside, it reduces emissions too.
‘A big barrier to people listing their parking spaces or opening up their parking lots is that it’s expensive to install parking access equipment,’ says Lowrie. ‘But KERB does it at a fraction of the cost.
‘The parking experience with KERB is frictionless,’ she adds. ‘Operators also receive a much better picture of how their car park is used and by who.
‘We quickly found there was a lot of opportunity to digitalise and disrupt the parking operations industry. This helped improve the way operators manage their car parks.’
Driving growth in Southeast Asia
In 2018, a year after KERB was founded, the startup launched in Malaysia.
The team always knew the opportunities abroad would be greater than on their home ground, where the market is already advanced.
‘Most car parks around the world don’t have licence plate recognition, but almost every car park in Australia does,’ Lowrie says.
‘It’s great hardware, and it’s very expensive. That makes it harder for a company like KERB to break into this market.’
In Asia, however, a lot of car parks are still manually operated. Owners are keen to digitise and want to skip the hardware-intensive phase.
‘At the same time, Southeast Asian consumers are tech-savvy,’ says Lowrie. ‘They’re comfortable using their smartphones and digital wallets to pay for services.’
The team has partnered with major property groups to open up more spaces for car and motorbike parking across the region.
KERB’s parking management platform is helping people find parking spots and easing urban congestion.
Austrade accelerates success
From day one, Austrade has been a key part of KERB’s exporting journey in Southeast Asia.
The startup has taken part in Austrade’s Landing Pad program in Singapore. Austrade assistance in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines has been ‘critical to our success in those markets’, Lowrie says.
Through Austrade Malaysia, KERB learnt about the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s City Architecture for Tomorrow Challenge (CATCH). The startup went on to win the challenge, and US$250,000 in prize money.
‘Austrade was pivotal in getting us involved in that, which is how we launched into Malaysia,’ Lowrie says.
The relationship is ongoing. The KERB team has attended roadshows across Southeast Asia at Austrade’s invitation, where they’ve met investors and advisory board members. They’ve also been introduced to core customers, and have employed people they’ve met at Austrade events.
‘The networking opportunities are what we really love about these missions,’ says Lowrie.
When exploring new markets, Austrade has also connected KERB to the relevant government departments. This has helped demystify the complex requirements of setting up a business overseas.
‘The Philippines, in particular, was challenging,’ Lowrie says.
‘Austrade connected us to the right people who could answer our questions and help us set up in the correct way. That was so helpful.’
The team is now working on a tech upgrade which Lowrie says will allow KERB to expand more quickly, at scale. Again, the company connected with its tech partner through Austrade.
‘Once we have that product finalised, it will be easier for us to launch into more new markets and start growing more internationally – and in Australia as well,’ she says.
The road less travelled
Austrade has been intertwined with KERB’s growth story in Southeast Asia, and continues to be. So it’s hardly surprising that Lowrie is something of an advocate.
‘I recommend Austrade all the time,’ she says.
‘I have connected numerous contacts with Austrade team members. It’s been a great experience. We’re very lucky to have that support.’
Lowrie’s advice for entrepreneurs is not to be scared of overseas expansion.
‘Everyone wants to make Australia work first, but sometimes Australia is not the best place to start,’ she notes.
‘For KERB, the Australian market is difficult. So we’ve gone elsewhere, and we’re looking to come back as a stronger business that can actually compete.’
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