Angkas

Angkas, operated by DBDOYC Inc., is the Philippines’ largest motorcycle ride-hailing platform, connecting passengers with motorcycle-taxi (“habal-habal” style) drivers through a mobile app, alongside a package delivery service. It was founded in December 2016 by Filipino entrepreneur George Royeca and Singaporean businesswoman Angeline Tham, reportedly after Tham experienced firsthand how much time is lost sitting in Metro Manila traffic.

The platform played a genuinely pioneering regulatory role in the Philippines, operating for years under a government pilot/study program before motorcycle taxis for hire had a fully settled legal framework — a battle its founders and riders were vocally engaged in publicly.

Angkas has continued operating at large scale (tens of thousands of active riders), but 2026 financial analysis based on its own disclosures shows real strain: the company was reported to be spending nearly ₱5 for every ₱1 of revenue earned, with a net loss margin of about -79% and negative free cash flow of roughly ₱493 million for the year, alongside a roughly 72% decline in cash reserves (from about ₱642 million to about ₱177 million) by the end of 2025 — giving an estimated 7 to 8 months of runway at that burn rate. This is reported here as real, publicly disclosed financial data, not an editorial judgment on the company.

Metro Manila and other major Philippine cities suffer from severe traffic congestion, and formal public and private transport options have historically been limited, unreliable, or slow for point-to-point travel, particularly for shorter trips where a car-based ride-hailing service is inefficient.

Motorcycles can navigate traffic far faster than cars, but before Angkas there was no large-scale, app-based way to safely and reliably hire a motorcycle ride on demand.

Commuters and everyday riders in Metro Manila and other major Philippine cities needing fast point-to-point transport, plus senders needing small package delivery, along with the motorcycle riders who earn income as drivers on the platform.

Angkas built and defended the motorcycle ride-hailing category in the Philippines essentially from scratch, including navigating years of regulatory uncertainty (motorcycle taxis for hire were not clearly legal under existing transport law when it launched) that a slower-moving or less committed company likely would not have survived.

That first-mover, category-defining position is real, but as its 2026 financial disclosures show, defending category leadership at this cash-burn rate is now a genuine, publicly visible challenge for the business, not a settled success story.